Infected
by soraxtsuna123
Summary: A worldwide pandemic is causing cannibalistic behaviors in humans. The gang has to struggle through an apocalyptic world where the dead are walking, and the general rule for survival is to kill or be killed. Based off of The Walking Dead. Rated M for cursing, violence, and gore.
1. Chapter 1

" _A nationwide pandemic is causing aggression and cannibalistic behaviors to those infected. Do not approach anyone harboring these strange activities. Lock your doors and stay quiet until further notice. Please call in your sightings,"_ a female voice rang through the old radio that was situated on the kitchen counter. It blared an alarm that made all of the residents in the house cringe. The message repeated itself before Darry lowered the volume. The family of five looked incredulously at the radio before the two adults scrunched their eyebrows together in concern.

"Was that for real?" Soda asked.

"A virus that causes cannibalistic behaviors? That doesn't seem possible… It must have been a drill," the father reassured.

"Then wouldn't they have said so?" Ponyboy asked, crinkling his nose.

"I think you watch too many movies. You should be fine. The virus would be stopped before it could reach us."

The mother patted Ponyboy's shoulder. "Get ready for school or you'll be late."

Ponyboy nodded and grabbed his backpack. Darry, Soda, and Ponyboy left their house and walked to the middle school where the youngest was dropped off. The three said their goodbyes before Soda and Darry left to the high school.

As soon as Ponyboy stepped onto the campus, he made a beeline to his home room class to avoid any conflicts with other students. Whilst pushing through all the prepubescent students, he couldn't help but notice that the virus was the talk of the whole school. There were students who were nervous or scared, students that didn't care at all about the news, and students with ugly grins who were making jokes about the virus. Ponyboy rolled his eyes and plopped down in his desk near the back of the room. Ponyboy took out his book to pass time until the first period started.

Everything was good. The day was like any other day (besides the whole virus fiasco): bland. Sometimes, Ponyboy wished that something eventful would occur, but nothing happens in Oklahoma besides tornadoes, earthquakes, and bipolar weather.

Around the end of the school day, everyone was anxious about escaping the building that might as well been a jail. More and more glances were shot towards the clock, eyes begging for the time to go faster. There was less than a minute left—even the teacher stopped lecturing—but the bell didn't ring. Instead, there was a blood curdling scream that silenced everyone. Goosebumps arose on Ponyboy's skin. The scream continued before it suddenly stopped. The intruder alarm went off after a moment, causing the students to jump out of their seats. Besides the startled jump, everyone was too shocked to move. Their eyes were trained on the door.

The teacher snapped out of her daze and rushed to her desk. She pointed to the walls of the room, deciding that hiding under the desks was too revealing, even if there were no windows that showed the hallway and the windows that displayed outdoors were built high to prevent anyone from peeking inside. "Hide against the walls and stay there. Keep silent," she instructed, grabbing her keys, locking the door from the outside, and flipping off the light. She ducked under her desk, visibly shaking.

Ponyboy pressed his back against the nearest wall. His body was tense and stiff, eyes wide with fear. Ponyboy shut his mouth until his lips turned white from the pressure. Everyone in the class was terrified. A majority of the students were sobbing uncontrollably, unable to keep silent. Ponyboy was close to that point as well. He kept strong, even though he was the youngest there, having skipped a grade in elementary school.

They might have stayed there for a half an hour. No one checked the clock to see how much time has actually passed. The only sounds were the chocked sobs and the blaring alarm. Then a pounding hit the metal doors. The students who could see through the thin window on the door screamed, earning a hush from the teacher, but it was too late. Whoever was outside knew there were students present in the classroom.

The banging shook the room. The intruder must have been weaponless—which was dumb, if Ponyboy could say so himself. The window cracked before it shattered, and skin-torn hands reached through, groping the air. Groans and growls filled the room, causing everyone to scream again.

The arms flailed, hitting the doorknob, opening the door from the inside. The intruder stumbled in and Ponyboy had the chance to see its face. His heart stopped.

The person wasn't really a person at all. Their torso was torn open, ribs visible to the eyes and chunks missing from its limbs and neck. Their eyes were a glassy white, and their lips were missing, showing their teeth. They reeked of rotten flesh. The sight made Ponyboy throw up in his mouth.

It turned its eyes to one of the crying girls before charging at her. She screamed even when teeth tore a chunk out of her shoulder. Her flesh separated like it was rubber. The intruder dug its fingernails into her stomach, ripping it apart, before eating her organs.

' _Cannibalistic behaviors_ ,' was the only thought that passed Ponyboy's brain.

Students scrambled out of the classroom and Ponyboy followed suit. Tears were welling up in his eyes from fear. Ponyboy ran outside the school, not even paying attention to the police officers who were about to enter the school, even when he was called after.

He ran straight home in a frantic manner, crashing through the door. "Darry! Mom! Dad! Soda!" he called out. Of course, no one was home. Everyone was in school or at work.

Ponyboy rushed to the phone, spinning in his dad's work number. In a couple of rings, his father's boss picked up. Ponyboy didn't wait for the person on the other end to greet him.

"Can you get my dad on the phone?" Ponyboy asked, voice full of panic.

"Are you Mr. Curtis's boy, by any chance?" the man asked after a moment.

"Yes! Please, just get him on the phone…quickly."

The phone went dead before his father picked up. "Ponyboy? What is it? Why are you calling?" he asked. He heard chocked sobs from Ponyboy. "What happened?"

"Cannibal…affected by the virus… attacked my school. I saw one rip a classmate up. They looked wrong, Dad…" His sentences were fragmented and hard to understand, but his father was able to piece the information together.

"What? Are you sure?"

Ponyboy nodded, but realized his father couldn't see him. "Yeah."

"Are you home right now?"

"Yes."

"Okay… Stay there. Lock yourself in your room. I'm going to pick up everyone and come get you. Do not let anyone in the house, am I clear?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, I'm going to hang up now…"

The phone died and Ponyboy put the phone down. He scurried to his room, closing the door shut and hid in his closet. Ponyboy curled in a tight ball as the events replayed in his head.

An hour later, his family swung open and called Ponyboy's name. Ponyboy ran out of his room, running towards them.

"Are you alright?" his mom asked. Ponyboy nodded.

"We need to call in," the father said, picking up the phone, but there was no need. Police cars sped past their house, sirens blaring. A second later Two-Bit swung open the door with wide eyes.

"There you guys are. Things are bad out there, man," Two-Bit said, eyes wide.

"What's out there?" Soda asked.

Two-Bit looked sick. "Chaos."

"What do we do?" Ponyboy's mother asked.

"We need to evacuate," the father answered.

The mother looked appalled. "We will not! This is our home!"

"We will come back home. We just need to leave until everything is back to normal. Right now, we are not safe."

"What about the others?" Darry asked, referencing their friends.

The father thought about it. "Let's quickly find them and leave. Do you know where they are?"

"Steve and Johnny are probably at school. Dally, well, who knows what's Dally's doing."

"Okay. Everyone, in the car. We get them, we get out."

The family and Two-Bit rushed in the truck, not even thinking about packing their belongings. They drove back to the high school where students were being evacuated already. Johnny and Steve were already grouped together with confused expressions. They scurried over once they saw their friends.

"What's happening?" Steve asked.

"The virus," Soda answered.

"We need to find Dally," Darry informed.

But before any of them could leave, a building exploded and everyone ducked out of instinct. People around them started to scream as pale humans with glassy eyes ran towards them, talking them to the ground, tearing them apart. Ponyboy couldn't rip his eyes from the people who were chewing up the screaming humans. The tearing of the flesh was the same as his classmate.

Ponyboy was pulled backwards and tugged to run back to the truck. The truck was cramped, with some having to jump in the bed. Their eyes were all wide at what they just witnessed.

"We're going," Ponyboy's father declared.

"What about Dally?" Johnny asked.

"We can't go back. It's too dangerous."

"We need to go back!" Soda said.

"What about our families?" Two-Bit asked from the bed.

The father scrunched his eyebrows together. With a loud sigh, he turned the truck around. They left the truck in front of Two-Bit's house to evacuate his family, but when they walked inside, they were pushed back again. Two-Bit's family were not the same anymore. They were infected. His parents and sister ran towards them, but Darry slammed the door shut. The infected banged on the window.

For once, Two-Bit wasn't cracking a joke. His goofy smile was no longer there.

"Oh, Two-Bit, I'm so sorry," Mrs. Curtis said awkwardly.

The window shattered all of a sudden and Two-Bit's mother grabbed Mrs. Curtis, pulling her closer. Mrs. Curtis tried to pull away, and almost did, before teeth sunk into her neck. Ponyboy screamed before he was shoved to the side into Soda's arms who looked just as shocked as Two-Bit when he found out his family was infected a minute ago. Their father rushed forward and tried to rip his wife away but, more arms reached through the broken window and grabbed him, sinking teeth in him as well. The infected crawled out of the window for better leverage. Blood covered Two-Bit's parent's body as they dug chunks from Mr. and Mrs. Curtis who had stopped struggling.

"We have to go!" Darry ordered, looking blankly at the occurrence. They pulled their attention away, and rushed back to the truck. Darry took the truck off of park and hit the gas petal, speeding away from the horrors they left behind.

 **o-o-o**

 **This chapter was a mess. Don't worry. It'll become smoother when there are less characters. Dally, as well as the name of the "infected" will be in the next chapter. This might be rough for me because I am used to first person stories. Even though this story will be mostly following Ponyboy, I will follow some of the other characters when needed. I do plan on writing a sequel, but instead of it being based off of The Walking Dead, it will be a crossover. In that story, it will completely follow whatever characters are left.**

 **When reading this, you are recommended to ask questions. Your generic expectation of this text is already character deaths, I can tell. Yes, there are, but I won't say when they will die or who will die. The question really is 'if' they are dead.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders.**


	2. Chapter 2

The truck skidded to a stop, throwing the occupant's bodies forward. Steve cursed under his breath as he stood up from the bed of the truck, glaring at Darry for the inconvenience. He cursed again at the long line of unmoving cars on the highway. "Everybody had the same idea," he said, but his voice was drowned out by honking.

"What the fuck is going on!" a man screamed out of his window as he repeatedly honked the horn.

"Move, come on!" another exclaimed.

Darry looked blankly out of the truck. On a normal case, he would be irritated just as much as the next guy, but he felt numb. Multiple contrasting thoughts flew through his head. He faced denial, but he knew that his parents were gone, leaving him to take care of his younger brothers.

In the backseat, Ponyboy and Soda looked out the window of the truck with a similar expression. They, on the other hand, could not comprehend what had happened.

"Ponyboy, do you want to talk about this?" Johnny asked quietly.

Ponyboy shook his head. "What's there to talk about? How could we possibly talk about—" Ponyboy choked, eyes watering. He looked away from his friend.

"Dead?" Johnny said slowly, letting the word sink in. "I'm sorry…Those…Whatever you call them…"

"Let's not talk about this right now," Darry interjected, gritting his teeth. He exited the truck for a better view of what was going on.

"Start moving, damn it!" an old man that was parked behind the truck screamed, rushing over to Darry. His rosy cheeks stood out on the bright light and his one-size too small for his plump body was drenched in his own sweat.

"We can't! The cars are backed up for miles!" Darry answered.

"Then slowly move the fucking cars and whatever is in the way! It's simple! I need to get to work!"

"Don't you know what's going on right now?"

"Yeah. Chill, man," Steve interjected, watching the whole feud.

The man's face was redder than a tomato. "Excuse me? I will not have you disrespect me! Do you know how hard I work? You kids have no idea what adults have to go through!" The man was practically vibrating in rage, letting out ragged breaths. He leaned against the truck and closed his eyes for a long moment. Darry and Steve looked at each other with the same thought: _what was wrong with this guy?_

The man shook his head and slowly walked back to his car, clenching his chest, without another word. But before he could open his car, his face scrunched up in pain and he fell to the ground.

"Holy shit," Steve cursed, unsure on what he should do. Neither did anyone else. Calling for an ambulance was futile with no telephones and no way for the abundance to pass the cars. No one around them knew what was going on, they were too transfixed on trying to move their car forward. The older man stopped moving when his blood ceased to circulate in his body.

"Is he dead?" Two-Bit asked, poking his head up from the bed of the truck, eyes wide.

"I… I don't know…" Darry confessed. "Somebody help!" His shouts were drowned out by the cars. Giving up, he bent down to check for a pulse, but when he found none, he reeled back.

"Well?" Steve asked.

"He's dead."

"What do we do with the body?" Two-Bit asked. "You're the oldest here, Darry. Think of something."

While the three were bickering of what to do next, the dead man woke up. He emitted a sound that sounded like a growl mixed with a gargle. The man's skin was a few shades paler than it was a few minutes ago. He looked at Darry with blank eyes, slowly lifting his head. He reached his hands out, grabbing Darry's shirt with an iron grip.

Darry spun around, yelling out in shock as the undead man's face was a foot away. He tried to pull back, but he only dragged the man with him. Steve immediately jumped off of the truck to help, kicking the dead man away with all of his might. This commotion attracted a few people from the surrounding cars who walked over to take a look. Johnny, Ponyboy, and Soda exited the truck as well, slamming the door behind them.

"Are you okay?" Soda asked.

Before Darry could respond, the dead man grabbed his leg and tried to sink his teeth in. Again, Steve kicked him away.

"Here!" one of the bystanders shouted, passing a hammer to Darry. He gave her a look that asked why they had a hammer in the first place. "Kill it!"

The dead man lunged again and Darry spun around, nailing it in the head. He pinned the dead man down with his foot. Fueled by the pressure of the commands and the fear for his life, Darry started to beat the hammer over and over into the man's skull. The hammer smashed its skull, caving it in. Even with the injury, the man kept moving. Darry slammed the hammer down once more, successfully re-killing the man. Blood was all over Darry's arm as he removed the sticky hammer from its skull. A few chunks of brain dropped off onto the asphalt.

"You killed him…" Ponyboy muttered. Darry looked at his hands in shame. He had just murdered someone. Even if it was self-defense, the thought of taking someone's life was overbearing.

"He was already dead," the woman that handed Darry the hammer said. Her hair was a bird's nest, bags under her fear-filled eyes made everyone sceptic of what she had just said. However they kept an open ear because she had more answers than them.

"What do you mean?" Soda asked.

"The infection kills the host and brings them back different." Her tone changed and her expression turned dark. "My brother was sick. He died right in front of me, and turned into one of them."

"How long ago was this?"

"This shit-storm started weeks ago. My town wasn't warned. People are calling them chompers—at least from what I heard."

Another girl ran to them with a panicked expression. "Hey, we got trouble coming." She kept peeking over the cars.

"More chompers? Did they get attracted to the sound?"

"Probably. We have to hightail out of here."

The other female nodded, snatching her hammer from Darry before disappearing in the train of cars without a second word.

Two-Bit stood up to look over the cars. A group of chompers were entering the freeway not too far from them. If they were anything like the other chompers he saw, the safest option was to leave. "We need to go too," he declared.

Everyone was reluctant to leave the truck, but they didn't want to have to face the chompers again. The thought about killing someone alive or dead, made all of them sick to their stomach, and Darry didn't want to have to face that again.

 **o-o-o**

Dally sat up from the bench in the prison cell to the sound of police officers shooting their guns.

"Hey, what's going on out there?" his cellmate screamed.

One officer ran up to them. "Just stay quiet," he ordered and ran off.

"Come back! What's happening?"

From where Dally sat, he could see through the translucent window on the door. The officer's shadowed figure stood on guard on the other side of the door. In a fluent motion, the officer shot his handgun, but another figure appeared in the window, knocking he police officer to the ground. He screamed out in shock as he shot the man that toppled him. The officer stood up, but another figure appeared at the window, sinking their teeth in his shoulder. The policeman's blood sprayed on the window as his knees buckled. Bloody hands dragged down the window before collapsing.

Dally's blood went cold as his jaw clenched up. He had seen a lot of horror for a fifteen year old, but nothing as bloody as this.

"Are you alright?" his cellmate screamed, making Dally spin around in annoyance.

"Shut your mouth," he hissed, not wanting to attract attention. He was a sitting duck in the cell—an easy target. Whoever was out there probably didn't know they were in there until his cellmate opened his trap.

Other shadows appeared from the other side of the door. Some of them bent down while the others pushed the door open. The cellmate's eyes grew wide as he held the bars of the cell for a better look. The ghoulish faces of the newcomers brought chills down their spines. Their gashed out bodies stumbled quickly towards them, arms reached out, grasping air.

"What kind of trick is this?" the cellmate screamed. Everything would have to have been a prank set by the police officers. Except Dally was smart enough to figure out that it wasn't. Why would the police officers pull a prank like this (not even being close to Halloween) and waste bullets? Something was going on, and he couldn't do anything about it. The battered humans reached the cell and slipped their arms through the gaps. The cellmate, still thinking that it was still a prank, laughed, and walked forward and played around. A huge smile broke out on his chapped lips. He poked the cheeks of one of the "costumed" people. "Golly, this is so realistic!"

The costumed person spun his head around and bit the cellmate's finger. His eyes widened and attempted to pull free, but the teeth crunched through his finger. The cellmate drew back and fell on the cold floor, holding out his finger that was spewing blood. He was screaming as he showed off the stump in a panic.

Dally stood up, looking from the cellmate to the cannibalistic people that already swallowed the finger. "Shit! Fucking hell!" the cellmate screamed and bit hard onto his lips, drawing blood as he shut his eyes to keep back the tears.

The cannibals dropped to the ground and grabbed the cellmate's ankle, attempting to drag him closer, who thrashed and kicked but couldn't break free. Dally rushed over, stomping on the cannibals hand until they let go. He dragged his cellmate back by the scruff of his shirt and pressed himself as far away from the bars as possible.

The cellmate pressed the stub on his clothes to stop the bleeding. His face was tense as if the shock of a missing body part hasn't hit him.

The cannibals tried to push themselves through the bars, but was unable to. Dally relaxed a bit more, realizing he was safe for now. If they ate a finger, he didn't want to think about what it was like if they got a hold of him.

They stayed in the cell for a couple more hours. The bleeding had long stopped and the cellmate had come to terms with the missing finger. The cannibals were still trying to get in and Dally was beginning to think that he wouldn't be getting out at all. The police officer that was attacked had joined the push to enter the cell. His insides were all cleaned out.

His cellmate wasn't looking too hot. His clammy face was pressed against the wall and he was sweating like a pig. His eyes were closed as he cradled his infected hand with ragged breaths.

Finally, the sound of someone opening the front door of the police station caught the attention of a majority of the cannibals. Some left while others stayed behind. Hope filled Dally, but then he remembered what happened to all of the police that were stationed there.

A few seconds later, gunshots rang through the station, attracting the cannibals that stayed behind. They turned from Dally and his cellmate to walk over. More gunshots caused both of them to flinch. Everything was silent for a while before the people that entered the station started to talk. Dally couldn't pick up what they were saying.

Their footsteps and voices were getting closer before the door opened and two gruffly men entered. Their towering figures, leather jackets, and scruffy beards was a bit intimidating. It didn't help that they had heavy artillery guns.

The two men looked at each other before they nodded after looking at Dally. They walked over. "What are you here for?"

"This time is just a fight. Don't know what he's in for." The cellmate, in response, moaned in pain.

"Alright," one of the men said, grabbing the keys for the cell. He unlocked it and motioned Dally through. Dally got back up to exit the cell. His cellmate stood up as well and attempted to follow, but the door was shut and locked before he could set one foot out.

"What are you doing?" the cellmate asked, eyes wide as he looked just as shocked as he was confused.

"You're not leaving. Not in your condition."

"What does that have to do with anything? I'm going to die if I stay in here."

"You'll only bring misfortune to the rest of us and get us killed. You're an easy target to the locomoters. It's better to die here than out there."

"Is that what they are called? What the hell is going on?" Dally interrupted, crossing his arms.

"The world has gone to hell. I don't know what happened. Everyone practically left the city if they weren't killed or infected."

"What are you guys doing here then?"

"Artillery. Everyone's going to want them so we're taking them before someone else does."

The men turned to leave to the gunroom and Dally stalked closed behind, taking quick glances at his cellmate who was begging to be released.

The three stepped over a number of bodies. "They were already dead," one of the men muttered as a short explanation. "We just re-killed them."

In the gunroom, the two men stuffed guns and ammo in duffel bags, swinging them over their shoulders with a grunt. Dally grabbed a bag himself and stuffed it with the leftovers, sticking a handgun in his belt.

The three exited the building. The sun was beating hot and locomoters were walking around, not yet aware of them.

"I'm going to bet you have somewhere to be. Good luck. When you do come across a locomoter, kill it before it kills you."

 **o-o-o**

 **Sorry for the late update. I thought we just needed a break from the tragic deaths from The Walking Dead season seven premier. .**

 **Replies:**

 **Guest: Thanks. I'm hoping that this chapter wasn't too messy as well. Everything is still being sorted out.**

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	3. Chapter 3

The gang shuffled through the long weeds on the plains. They strayed far away from the highway, not in any particular direction. They had started out in the direction they were driving, but slowly lost their way.

What were they doing? Their feet stung from the miles they walked. They were thirsty, weaponless, hungry, and out in the open.

"We need to head back to Tulsa," Darry declared. "We need to get supplies."

"What about the chompers?" Soda asked.

"I bet most people escaped the city. There shouldn't be many in Tulsa… I think," Steve answered.

"What do we do if we actually come across a chomper? We don't really have any weapons."

"We just have to hope that we don't run into them. If we do, run," Darry answered.

"Are we all going?" Two-Bit asked.

Darry nodded. "We're not going to split up."

"More like, he won't be able to find his way back," Steve snorted. Darry wacked him in the chest, rolling his eyes.

The gang spun on their heels to march back to the highway. It wasn't hard to find it again, but none of them wanted to get closer. From where they stood, they could make out dozens upon dozens of chompers walking aimlessly around. None of them, from what they could see, had separated from the road or noticed them. The six walked in the direction of Tulsa for hours. Day turned to night and night into early morning. Legs dragged behind the greasers, their eyelids dropped from exhaustion. Their mouths were dry, throats aching, and stomach twisting and rumbling. It seemed lie they would never get back to Tulsa.

Finally, after the excruciating walk, the city came into view. All lights that lit up the streets were shut down, cars were clustering together, some flipped over, and others crashed against others. Trashcans were toppled over and blood painted the ground in various places. There weren't any chompers yet, but they knew that they would come across them.

Just as soon as they lowered their guard down, a chomper banged its hands on a car window that they were passing. The gang all jumped before calming down when they found out that the chomper couldn't leave the car. They continued the pursuit of the Curtis house, weaving through alleyways as much as possible to avoid chompers, but not all alleyways were empty.

It started out with just one. A chomper stood at the end of the alley. It turned its head at the sound of pounding footsteps. The gang stopped their pursuit and turned around to run the other way since they could easily lose the chomper. They ran back down the alley, about to find another alley to duck into, but they sprinted too fast. Two-Bit couldn't turn the corner and ended up slamming his hands on a car for assist, sending the car's alarm off.

The alarm attracted a hoard of chompers. They walked over, completely blocking them from escaping in that direction. Once again, they turned around to run the other direction because one was better than a hundred. But when they turned around, there was no longer than one. Chompers squeezed through the thin alley. The gang was trapped from both directions. Steve spun around to find any way to escape, but there were no ladders or sewers. It seemed like there was no hope for them, but then a dull, gray gleam from behind a dumpster. He pushed it aside, revealing a door. Hope filled the greasers, but as he reached to open the door, it was locked.

The chompers were closing in on them, their growls making their skin crawl. Steve desperately tried to get the door open, but it wouldn't budge.

They couldn't see from either side of them besides the ghoulish bodies of the dead. Their backs were pressed together and Two-Bit flicked out his switch-blade, though he knew that there wouldn't be a point.

He door suddenly slammed open and when they turned to look, they came face-to-face with the barrel of a gun. Their eyes trailed up the gun to blazing blue eyes. Their eyes opened in shock and Dally looked surprised as well. They wanted to question him, but they didn't have time.

"Get in," Dally ordered and they all hustled in the room without a second's thought. Soda grabbed the doorknob to slam the door shut. Chompers tried to get through, pulling open the door, almost biting Soda before the door was shut and locked.

"What are you doing here?" Darry asked.

"I should be asking the same."

"Where were you? We looked all over for you."

"The fuzz hauled me up. I got out to see locomoters walking the street."

Two-Bit and Steve burst out laughing (even the others were amused). "Locomoters?" Two-Bit cackled.

Dally looked confused, but managed to keep the embarrassment under control. "That's what you call them…"

"No! Chompers!"

"Locomoters…" Steve mumbled with a huge grin.

"Shut your trap before I knock your teeth out," Dally growled, glaring. The smiles on their faces dropped.

The banging on the door brought them back to reality. They all headed deeper inside the building, which happened to be a bar. A few bodies with bullet holes all over their forms lied on the floor. "Why are you here?" Darry asked again, swallowing back the vomit.

"I was trying to get out of here, but the loco—chompers forced me in here."

"We came back to get supplies."

"How do we get out?" Johnny asked, looking out the window to the chompers who were trying to break through the windows.

"That's what I was trying to figure out before you came."

The windows began to crack. "We have to think of something fast," Darry said.

"We can get to the roof." Dally said, leading them away from the windows to a staircase. Dally opened the door, and closed it behind them. He took a mop that he picked up along the way and jammed it through the handles to lock it.

The gang all went to the ledge to peek at the hoard. Hundreds of chompers were surrounding the bar, the car alarm finally shutting off from the battery drainage. It was unsettling to see the waves of arms reaching towards the bar window. It would only be a few more minutes until the chompers would get inside.

Ponyboy let in an intake of breath, earning looks from the others. They followed his gaze to his parents. Soda gasped and backed away from the ledge, pulling is brother back with him. Their almost-unrecognizable parents looked up them with blank eyes. There bodies were completely torn and chewed up. Their hair was torn out of their skulls and they were almost meatless.

Finally, everything hit them. Both boys started to cry uncontrollably. Ponyboy buried his face in his hands, body being smothered by Soda who held him tightly. Darry was as white as a ghost, eyes wide open in petrification.

Dally gritted his teeth as if he was deciding upon something. He swung his gun in front of him, looking through the scope.

"What are you doing?" Darry hissed, pushing the gun down before it could get fired.

"Someone has to do it."

"You are not going to kill my parents."

Dally rolled his eyes. "Fine, I won't. It doesn't hurt me."

"Do it…" Soda mumbled just loud enough to be heard over the loud chompers.

"What?" Darry looked stunned that his kid brother would say that.

"Look at them… they don't deserve this. They're supposed to be dead, Darry; not undead." Darry knew that Soda was right. His parents weren't supposed to be walking around with cannibals. Darry looked at Ponyboy whose eyes were red and puffy. He didn't want to have to put weight on the twelve-year-old. He decided not to ask the younger for his opinion on the matter.

Darry turned around, moving Soda and Ponyboy so that they were facing the direction. He gave a sad nod to Dally and covered Ponyboy's ears, knowing that it wouldn't be enough to block the gunshots. Darry shut his eyes tightly, flinching at the two gunshots that split through the air.

The loud bullets attracted more chompers towards the bar. It was a wonder how the window was still holding. Then realization hit Dally. "I left the gun bag inside. I need to get it."

"The bar is about to be flooded with chompers. You're crazy; out of your mind," Steve said.

Dally didn't listen (no one can control him after all). "You can jump onto the next building from here if you need too."

"Dally…" Johnny tried to stop him, but he was only given a long stare before Dally opened the door and left.

The window shattered and the chompers flooded the bar. Gunshots rang through the air before there was silence. Chompers were walking up the stairs to the roof and Steve had to push everyone to the ledge.

"What about Dally?" Johnny asked, but no one had time to answer him.

It wasn't that far of a jump, especially with a running start. They tried to not look down when they jumped the ledge one by one. They looked back at the bar, hoping that he would appear and join them, but not even another gunshot came.

 **o-o-o**

 **Replies:**

 **Blue eyed titan99: Thank you. I hope you love the rest of it. :D**

 **Cookiewafflesandfanfic: *cries* Dat first episode of season seven tho. I'll be emotional with you.**


	4. Chapter 4

The eerie growls from the sea of chompers drowned out the sound of their racing heartbeats. The gang waited on the roof for some miracle to happen and Dally would pop his head out alive, but they couldn't stay there. The jump to the other building was easy, but chompers could stumble over. Most would fall, but not before hitting the ledge of other roof. Some chompers grabbed onto the ledge before falling, while the taller chompers would make it over, dragging themselves to their feet. Each time a chomper would make it over, Two-Bit would kick them off the ledge.

"We've got to go," Steve said.

"But Dally!" Johnny interjected. "We can't leave him."

"We won't be able to hold back the chompers soon."

"Just wait. He'll make it."

The others gave each other a look before looking at the roof door again. Their bodies tingled with anticipation. They waited for what seemed like forever before a gunshot erupted. Dally rushed on the roof, the chompers turning directions. He caught eyes with the gang before running towards the ledge, chompers right on his heels. He leaped off and landed on the other rood effortlessly, repositioning the duffel bag.

"Let's go!" he said. Without another beat, the gang ran to the other side to the roof and dropped down a rusty ladder. They entered another building and Darry slammed the door shut, pushing a table in front to make it harder to enter. All of them were breathing heavily.

They ventured deeper in the building to avoid being seen by any chomper outside. A few chompers were inside, but Dally stabbed them in the head with the end of his gun. The gang flinched at the sickening sound, stomachs flipping in disgust.

When the building was void of any chompers. Dally placed the duffel bag on the ground, swiftly unzipping it. The gang was in awe at the abundance of artillery. Dally passed out the guns to the gang, but when he tried to pass a revolver to Ponyboy, Darry and Soda stopped him.

"He's too young," they decided. Ponyboy shot them an annoyed look because he was definitely not too young. He has been hunting with them and their father, and he knows how to handle a gun. If Soda and Johnny could handle guns, he should too. He was only a couple of years younger. But he wasn't in the mood to speak up.

The gang all sat down, trying to calm themselves.

"So… locomoters…" Two-Bit muttered.

"Two-Bit, shut your trap," Dally warned.

"If we call these things differently, we should come up with our own name. Think about it." A strained smile was forced on his lips, and anyone who knew him could tell that Two-Bit was depressed but tried to hide it with some sort of pierrot façade.

"Like what?" Steve asked, going along with it because it was sure better than listening to the mumble of chompers.

"Dead'uns."

While the gang was joking about the name, Johnny sat next to Ponyboy who had separated himself. As soon as Johnny plopped himself down he asked how Ponyboy was doing.

Ponyboy just shook his head. Instead of answering Johnny's question, he whispered, "Dally killed them."

"Your parents—"

"I'm not talking about just my parents. Dally killed all those people."

"They were dead."

"Dead or not. He killed them without hesitation."

Johnny was silent. He never had the time to think about what Dally did. He only thought about survival.

How long was this epidemic going to last? Will it get to the point where they would have to kill a chomper?

 **o-o-o**

A month later the gang situated themselves in a plain that stretched out farther than what the eye could see. They sat in the open since there were nothing to hide themselves behind. The gang was beat. They had walked for hours a day, taking shifts at night. So far, they only came across about a dozen chompers because of how far they stayed away from roads and towns (especially cities) as much as possible.

They were heading east, since there was a supposed safe zone in Mississippi. They didn't know if the haven was true or not, but with nowhere to go, the gang was willing to try anything.

"We're low on food and water," Darry said, looking in his backpack.

"How far is it until the next town?" Soda asked.

"About six hours of a walk. We can stay the night there."

There weren't any complaints. The gang was tired of sleeping on the ground every night. They all got up from the ground, their legs whining in protest.

They arrived in the next town at nightfall. The quiet grumblings of growls slowed down their pursuit of a house. They warily continued in the dark, practically tiptoeing. Ponyboy pointed to the first house he saw. "What about that house?"

"It's as good as any," Darry replied. The gang walked up the porch and Steve knocked on the door. Instantly, hey heard the growl of chompers inside. Everyone looked at each other, deciding whether to try a new house or not, but decided to stay when they saw the silhouettes of chompers outside.

Dally pulled out a knife that he had snatched in the last town, nodding to Steve. With a deep breath, Steve flung open the door, a chomper instantly grabbing onto him. Dally stabbed it in the head, making the undead body go limp.

Not too long ago, Dally figured out that the only way to kill chompers was with a blow to the head. This wouldn't have been much of a problem if they had to go close range—using guns is too loud and bullets needed to be conserved—and the smell of decomposition was unbearable.

The house was small and there were no chompers in the bedrooms. Ponyboy and Darry walked into the kitchen to check what was still left, if anything. The opened all of the cabinets and the refrigerator, but the only items left were condiments and pet food. Ponyboy opened the pantry, expecting it to be empty.

Ponyboy jumped back, letting out a panicked, surprised yelp as a chomper lunged at him. He fell hard on the ground with the chomper on top and pushed back its shoulders. Ponyboy's arms shook from the weight. "Darry!" he screamed as the chomper's head got closer and his arm was on the point of giving in.

Darry was at his side in a second. He kicked the chomper off of his kid brother, grabbed a knife from the counter, and stabbed it in the head. Ponyboy looked at the scene incredulously, body shaking. Darry spun around, blood covering his hands. "Are you alright?" he asked, but dismissed the question to substitute for another. "What were you doing?"

Ponyboy flinched at his sharp tone. "I was just checking if there was any food in the pantry."

"Without checking if a chomper was inside? You were almost killed because of your recklessness. Use your head for once."

The two brothers were interrupted when someone cleared their throat. The gang ran to the kitchen when they heard Ponyboy call for help. Darry stepped back from Ponyboy to look in the pantry but found no food.

"There isn't anything here. We need to go to another house," he said, ignoring Ponyboy.

"It's too dangerous right now, especially if we travel in a big group," Steve countered.

"We need to get water and food today. We'll have to have two of us go to the house next door."

Steve sighed, too tired to argue with the irritated man. "Fine. I'll go."

"I'll go too," Two-Bit volunteered, grabbing the gun. The two left the house and Ponyboy looked at the window to the darkness. He could see their retreating figures and was about to find where he was going to sleep that night when another movement caught his eyes. Ponyboy couldn't place what it was since hit was dark, but soon recognized it as a chomper. He quickly moved away from the window, holding his breath.

The chomper passed the window and Ponyboy ran away deeper in the house. He didn't tell anyone what he saw to not cause commotion. Besides, the chomper was probably gone.

An hour later, Steve and Two-Bit returned with minimal food and water. Everyone's stomach growled at the look of it. It has been days since they last ate. They ravaged the food, not thinking about rationing it. The gang drowned the water, sighing in relief that the pain in their throat had vanished.

After eating, the gang knocked themselves out.

The next morning, everyone woke up to a bloodcurdling scream.

 **o-o-o**

 **Replies:**

 **Blue eyed titan99: For now he is that age, but there will be a lot of time skips until Pony turns 14.**

 **Guest: He's fine, but now there someone else that will need prayers. .**


	5. Chapter 5

Darry was briefly surprised on how fast he shot up from the ground, bolting to the front door where the scream originated from. Although he was freezing, he was sweating profusely. His mind was hazy and he barely noticed the gang on his heels.

His heart stopped when he made it to the door, world crashing around him. He froze to his spot as if his feet were cemented to the ground. Steve rushed by him but Darry couldn't retain the fuzzy moment encircling him.

Steve yelled out as he stabbed the chomper that infiltrated the house over and over until its face wasn't a face anymore. Steve was covered in the chomper's blood that splattered him.

Everything came rushing back as if what held him broke and Darry rushed to Soda whose knees gave out. Soda was sucking in shuddered breaths. Darry grabbed his arms, eyed rimmed with worry. "Are you alright?" Darry asked before bringing his hands back once he felt a wetness. His right hand was red. Darry looked at Soda's arm and saw a bite mark. Darry let out a sigh of relief because the bite wasn't deep.

Ponyboy stared at the motionless chomper. That was the chomper he saw outside (at least it had the same features anyways). It was his fault. He was the reason why his brother was bit and was almost killed. He didn't tell anyone of the chomper when he saw it and it stayed outside and waited until the door opened. Suddenly he didn't feel so hot. The little food he consumed the night before flipped in his stomach from the thought and smell of rotting flesh. The contents started to rise up his throat and he ran to the trash can in the kitchen to expel it.

"How did the chomper get in?" Darry asked after Johnny handed him the first aid kit that was in the bathroom.

"I heard pounding on the door. I didn't think… I thought it was someone outside that needed to get in."

"At least the bite isn't bad. You don't need stitches but it might get infected." Darry wrapped the wound after cleaning it.

Soon after, when the chomper was thrown out the house, they had all retreated back to the living room to calm down until it was time to continue their pilgrimage. As the days passed, Soda started lag a bit behind. His skin turned clammy a fever broke out. No matter how many times they would clean the bite wound, it would still become more infected. As much as the gang wanted to speed up their pace so that they could give him proper medical care at the safe-zone, they didn't want to push him too hard.

When they crossed the borders into Mississippi a few days later, they were greeted by the large, weather-worn and vandalized sign to greet them. _Welcome to Mississippi_ was crossed out by bright spray paint with the words ' _Laurel is safe'_ right under.

Everyone inwardly groaned. Laurel was on the other side of the state. Steve looked at his best friend who was leaning against a road sign with tightly closed eyes. "Will you be alright? You look like hell."

"I'm fine," Soda reassured, smiling brightly even though he didn't feel so hot.

Steve raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "We're stopping," he declared loudly for everyone to hear. The gang could walk a couple of more hours before nightfall, but they only had to take a look at Soda again to go against the idea.

"We're all tired. We should just stop for today," Two-Bit backed up.

The gang settled down against the sign, Soda crashing instantly into blissful sleep, only to be woken up soon after by someone yelling. His eyes shot open as he shot up, and he instantly felt cold metal on his forehead. His mind cleared up as his eyes trailed down the barrel of the gun. His eyes came in contact with a gruffly man. His eyes drifted from him to the gang who were lined up all with their own guns pointed at their heads. There were a few people scavenging through their bags before swinging them over their shoulders.

"That's our stuff!" Dally yelled.

"And now it's ours," said one of the men. "What should we do with them?"

The man holding the gun to Soda, scrutinized him. "What happened to you? Were you bit?" If possible, the atmosphere became even tenser, but then the man burst out into laughter. "We don't even have to get rid of any of y'all. He'll do it himself."

"What do you mean?" Soda asked, eyes wide.

"You were bit! You turn into one of them if you are bit."

"That can't be true!" Darry barked, earning a jab in the head with the point of the gun to remind him of his place.

"But it is. I wouldn't have believed it if I haven't seen it with my own two eyes." To say they were shook was an understatement. They couldn't believe that Soda, the one that gets drunk on just living, would turn into one of those cannibalistic monsters.

"It's not going to happen! It was just whoever you saw," Steve growled, reassuring Soda who was petrified.

"Believe what you want."

"Let's go," another man said. "If any of y'all tries to follow us, we will shoot."

The group was about to leave, but Steve's voice stopped them. "You can't leave with our guns!"

"Survival of the fittest."

Again they were going to try to walk away but Dally rushed to his feet. "Dally, no!" Johnny screamed, voice cracking. The men turned around right when Dally reached one. He swung a fist, nailing the man in the face, hearing a satisfying crack. Blood spurt from his nose as he fell back, unfortunately covering his gun with his body. Dally lunged at another man and wrestled for their automatic, but his grip was like iron. The gang, minus Ponyboy and Soda, ran forward to assist. Gunfire shook the earth and dust flew in the air.

Eventually, Dally ripped the gun away, pointing it at the man, and shooting off the bullet. Ponyboy's eyes widened and he wanted to throw up again. He watched the man's body fall to the ground and Dally's cool but surprised look on his face. Dally ripped his gaze from the man he had just murdered to the others and ran to help.

The noise attracted chompers from all around. They stumbled closer, but no one noticed them except for Ponyboy. He yelled out a warning to the gang who were somehow not injured besides a few bruises, but not even he could hear his voice over the gunshots.

The chompers got even closer, and everything became slow motion. His eyes darted to the ground to a revolver. He snatched it and hastily pointed it towards a chomper that was about to reach Johnny. With a deep breath, Ponyboy pulled the trigger.

The bullet went straight through the chomper's head, immobilizing it. The sound of fighting died down and everyone turned to look at the shaking boy before spinning around to look at the hoard that was closing in on them. Ponyboy didn't have enough time to reflect on what he just committed. They had to run or they were all dead.

Ponyboy ran to Soda, looping his arm over his shoulder to help. Even though Ponyboy was tall for his age, he had trouble supporting his brother. They fast walked through an opening in the hoard. They knew that there were some chompers that were right behind them, but they didn't stop until they saw a line of train carts.

The brothers swiftly entered a cart, closing the door behind them, and leaving them in darkness, only lit by the cracks of the door. The two were breathing hard as chompers tried to break in.

"We'll just have to wait them out," Soda breathed out, leaning against the wall.

Ponyboy nodded and sat next to him. "What about the gang?" he whispered.

"They'll be alright."

"What about you? What if you turn into one of _them_?"

Soda fell silent. "I'll be fine," he said, but he knew he wouldn't be. "Now be quiet for a while."

The two brothers eventually fell asleep in the cart, but Ponyboy was once again woken up. Soda had shifted to lay on the ground, but his breaths were uneven and his eyes were shut tightly. The chompers were still trying to break in.

"Soda…" Ponyboy called out, crawling over to his brother. There was no response. "Soda!" he said louder, shaking his arms. Nothing. "Soda, wake up!" Ponyboy shoved Soda back and forth, heart racing. What if Soda was in a coma and wouldn't wake up again? What would he do?

Ponyboy glanced at his arm before unraveling the bandages. Soda's wound was disgusting. Around the red flesh, his skin puffed up in pink. Pus had nearly consumed the wound.

"What is it?" Soda grumbled, eyes half lidded.

Ponyboy let out a sigh of relief. "You weren't waking up."

Soda smiled weakly. "I probably wouldn't have."

"Don't say that." Ponyboy wasn't used to Soda sounding this depressed.

"What if I'll turn?"

"You said you wouldn't turn. You can't turn." Ponyboy didn't realize that tears were falling form his eyes until now. "What am I going to do without you?"

"Live. Beat this world."

"You can't leave. I can't lose anyone else. You're not going anywhere."

Soda thought for a moment. He was sure that he wouldn't make it, but there is a doubt that he wouldn't turn into a chomper. "We'll have to see what happens, but if something happens, I want you to—"

 **o-o-o**

 **Replies:**

 **Blue eyed titan99: Here's the next chapter. I hope you liked it (even though I didn't feel like editing it).**

 **Guest 1: You're ominous too xD haha**

 **Guest 2: Here's the next chapter.**

 **Cookieswafflesandfanfic: This ending though. I'm glad that I shook you. :D**


	6. Chapter 6

He couldn't do it. _'I want you to kill me,'_ rang through Ponyboy's head, stabbing him with a million daggers. Ponyboy couldn't believe that his brother would ask him to do that, let alone utter the words. Never in a thousand years had he thought about killing Soda.

"I-I can't do it!" he rejected, voice trembling. "This is all my fault…" Ponyboy was straight-up bawling by then. Soda sat up to engulf his little brother in a comforting hug. Soda ran his fingers though Ponyboy's hair weakly, lifting up the corner of his mouth when he felt the younger relax.

"It's not your fault…" he whispered.

"Yes, it is."

With a long sigh, Soda pushed back Ponyboy's shoulders so that they could lock eyes. "Listen, it's not your fault. Why would you ever think that it was your fault?"

Ponyboy let out a shuddered breath. "I was the reason you got bit."

Again, there was an awkward silence and Ponyboy wished that there wouldn't be anymore. He shifted away from Soda, burrowing his face in his hands.

"Ponyboy… look at me."

Reluctantly, he complied. He stared at Soda's nose, unable to bring himself to look in his eyes.

"Why do you think it's your fault?" Soda asked.

"I saw the chomper that bit you."

"Pony, what does that—"

"Let me finish. I saw the chomper that bit you before you were bit. It was outside the house and I didn't tell anyone. If I would have told someone, you wouldn't have been bit and the gang wouldn't be split up or possibly dead. It's my fault."

"It's not your fault, Pony. The chomper should have passed by, but we made too much noise inside the house. It's fine, Ponyboy."

"It's not fine. You're going to die."

"It's unavoidable now. Please, just hurry. I don't know how long I have and I don't want to become one of those things. Promise me that you won't let me turn into a chomper."

"You're not—"

"Promise me."

Ponyboy bit his lip and looked away. "I promise…"

 **o-o-o**

It couldn't have been more than twelve hours when the chompers decided that no one was in the cart and limped away. The two brothers waited for another hour before heading out. There were a couple of chompers who stayed behind, but it wasn't hard to avoid them.

"How are we supposed to find the gang?" Ponyboy asked after there weren't any chompers in sight.

"They're probably on the way to the safe zone."

With a nod, they were on their way.

 **o-o-o**

"I can't believe we got out alive," Two-Bit said as he stepped over a dead chomper, but was ignored.

Darry glared at the ground until Steve rolled his eyes. "I'm sure they're fine. They're probably on their way to the safe-zone," Steve reassured. "Soda and the kid can take care of themselves."

"They aren't armed," Darry argued.

"The kid probably has the revolver."

Darry moved his glare to Steve. "Ponyboy shouldn't use the gun."

"He needs to learn to protect himself. What if none of us are there to help him?"

"I just don't want him to—"

"Harden like us and grow up killing? The kid has to grow up to this world."

The two were interrupted by Dally whistling for their attention. He pointed to the silhouettes that were walking away from them. The group of men that ambushed them had been reduced by half after the hoard. The bag of ammunition was swung over the shoulder of one of them. The gang didn't have many guns since they had were stolen and about to run out of bullet, and it would be difficult to sneak up on the armed men in the open.

Dally couched down, aiming his gun but lowered it a second later. "Out of ranged," he grumbled.

"What are we going to do?" Johnny asked.

"We just have to follow them until there is an opening. Keep low, you dig?"

They nodded and crouched down. They stalked the group, making sure to keep a far distance between them. The gang ended up in Vicksburg. The loud grumble of chompers sent chills down their spines. This was going to be a problem, but they needed their guns.

The group they were following entered a department store. After a long time of waiting outside, the gang entered the store. The store was quiet, and, for a minute, they thought they lost the group. The gang ventured deeper in the store. Everything was quiet like the store hasn't been stepped in for ages. They warily crept forward, their clack of their footsteps bounced off of the chipped walls.

The silence was ripped by metal clapping against the linoleum. The gang practically jumped out of their skins at the sudden noise as they spun around, pointing the few guns that they had. When they focused their eyes, there was nobody there. After a short standoff, the gang turned around to continue their search, but were faced with the ends of guns. Instead of finding them, they were the ones found.

"Following us?" one of the men growled, turning the safety off.

"Give us back our guns," Steve growled.

"How about we give you some bullets instead?"

Johnny was shaking, eyes as wide as plates. He exchanged looks with Dally who looked at everyone else, confirming a plan: fight. Without much more of a warning, Dally blindly shot his gun. The bang of the gunfire made everyone's ears ring, unable to move until their brains registered everything. The man that was shot held his bleeding stomach in shock as if trying to process that he was hit. He dropped to the ground, signaling the warfare.

Darry grabbed the man in front of him in a head lock, attempting to reach over to grab the gun. At first, the man struggled, but oxygen was slowly leaving his lungs, lagging his movements. Darry snatched the gun and threw the body to the ground, pointing the gun at him.

Steve punched a man in the face, sending him tumbling to the ground. He locked him against the ground and kept throwing punches until he rendered the man unconscious.

Two-Bit's vision darkened for a second when the man's head slammed against his. He stumbled bit back, but regained his vision quickly, realizing that he was now at gun point again. Two-Bit swiftly brought his gun up and slammed it against the man's head until he passed out.

Johnny was no match for the man that towered over him. He tried to step in, but the man pushed him back. Dally looped his arm around the man's neck, pulling him back. In surprise, the man shot his gun before Dally threw him to the ground and stomped on his face until he was unconscious.

"Shit!" Steve cursed as his eyes fell upon Johnny. All attention went towards to boy who was gripping a bleeding side. Johnny fell to his knees, face scrunched up in pain.

The gang's attention was shifted when the man that Dally shot before got up, eyes glassy. His head turned towards his comrade, almost longingly, before lunging at him. Dally moved back, reeling back the gun he was pointing. He was about to shoot the chomper, but was stopped by Two-Bit.

"We have to go right now," Two-Bit said. Steve grabbed the duffel bag and the guns on the ground while Dally scooped up Johnny who just fell unconscious. Darry nodded as he took one glance of the chomper tearing one of the men apart.

They ran through the store to find an alternate exit after seeing chompers trying to break into the store. They ran out back where there were only a couple of chompers who turned towards them. The gang mostly ignored them, Two-Bit only shooting one that got too close. They ran through a gate and to the first car they saw that wasn't locked. They placed Johnny in the back, both Dally and Darry sat with him while Steve went behind the wheel and Two-Bit in the passenger's seat.

Steve looked for keys but there were none. He moved his hands down to remove the plastic cover under the steering wheel and twisted together some wires before the car rumbled to life. Chompers banged on the car windows, but Steve slammed his foot on the gas pedal, running through them.

"Remove his shirt," Darry ordered as he reached in his bag for the first aid kit. Dally ripped off Johnny's shirt and used it to cover the bullet hole until Darry was ready.

Darry grabbed the tweezers in the kit and Dally removed the shirt. Fortunately, the bullet wasn't in deep or splintered. He grabbed the bullet with the tweezers and slowly dragged it out. His hands were bloody as he begun stitching the gaping hole, almost messing up when Steve went off the highway. Finally, Darry was done treating the bullet wound and Johnny's face relaxed and his breathing calmed down. They let out a sigh they didn't know they were holding. Johnny was going to be alright, although it will take a while for Johnny to recover completely.

They looked out the windows of the car, passing chompers and street signs.

 **o-o-o**

Soda stumbled through the dark. The sun had set a while ago, but there wasn't a safe spot to stop. His vision swam and his body swayed. He licked his cracked lips and ignored the ringing in his ears. The world was spinning around him. He heard a faraway voice and something touched his shoulder, but it felt like a bulldozer. One moment he was standing and then he was falling (or maybe he had already fell—it all felt the same).

Ponyboy sucked in his breath when Soda suddenly fell. Ponyboy caught him before he could fall completely, but Soda's weight dragged him to the ground. He looked around, seeing the outlines of chompers in the darkness.

"Soda!" he hissed, shaking him but there was no reaction. Panic settled in and he prayed that he would be okay. Ponyboy stood up, flinging Soda's muscular arm over his shoulders and slowly dragged him to find a relatively safe spot for the night. It felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, but he dragged on through the pain.

Finally they came across a large house that was void of any chompers. Ponyboy placed Soda on the couch. Tears stung his eyes as he chewed on his bottom lip until it turned raw.

"Come on, Soda, wake up," Ponyboy pleaded, resting his head on Soda's arm to calm his panic.

Eventually, Ponyboy had succumbed to exhaustion and ended up falling asleep.

He was woken up by a light nudge of the shoulder. His eyes slowly opened, mind starting to turn gears. He shot up and excitedly looked at Soda, but his smile faltered at Soda's condition. He was the image of death. His clammy, pale skin was gross to look at and the bags under his clouded eyes and thin structure made him look like a skeleton. If there wasn't life in his eyes and a small smile on his lips, Ponyboy would have mistaken him for a chomper.

"Hey," Soda greeted, voice quiet and weak.

"Hey," I answered, trying to bring a smile on my lips again, but couldn't.

Soda reached over, rubbing Ponyboy's hair, but he pushed his hand off of his head and fixed his hair, letting a smile escape on his lips. "You need to smile more."

"I wish I could these days."

There was another silence as Soda leaned his head back, relishing in the moment. "I think it's time, Pony."

Ponyboy's smile fell again. He knew that this was coming, and he still wasn't prepared. He would never in a million years be prepared, but Soda was right: it was time. The last thing that Ponyboy wanted was for Soda to suffer, and in his state, death would be better. Ponyboy doubted that Soda could stand anymore. He gritted his teeth but nodded. "I know."

Ponyboy's hands were shaking when he pulled out his gun. He held it against Soda's temple, but it kept moving too much. Soda reached up and grabbed his wrist to steady his hand. His eyes were filled with remorse and fear. Ponyboy wondered why he would be afraid (maybe he was scared of death even though death was far better than living at this point), when he should be the one scared. Not only did he have to kill someone living, but he had to end his _brother's_ life. He was scared of losing his brother and being alone. He didn't want to lose anyone else.

"It'll be alright, Pony. Right after this, you need to leave before the chompers come."

"You're crazy, Soda, out of your mind," Ponyboy tried to joke to calm him down more than anything else. Soda cracked a smile. Even though Ponyboy tried to lighten up the mood, the fake smile on his face fell. He closed his eyes, unable to look. He pulled the trigger.

 **o-o-o**

 **Replies:**

 **Blue eyed titan99: Was this fast enough?**

 **Cookieswafflesandfanfic: That's the point. Sorry xD**

 **Guest: It's going to be rough for him.**


	7. Chapter 7

Ponyboy loped down the street. He glanced at his disheveled appearance when he passed a window. His hair clung to his forehead, almost covering his lifeless eyes. Soda's dried blood was splattered across his face and he tried to rub them away with his blistery hands, but it only smeared and pressed the splinters deeper.

Ponyboy looked back towards the house that he had killed and buried Soda in just hours ago. He was angry more than he was sad. He was so done with this world. He was done with the stupid chompers, deaths, and how he is forced to live.

That's why, when a chomper stumbled up to, he lost it. His hands shot towards the gun in his waistband. He only saw red as his hands trembled in rage. He shot the gun, missing the chomper by a mile. Again, he shot the gun, but missed. The chomper was coming dangerously close and Ponyboy was sure that he had attracted every chomper in the area. He shot the gun again, this time implanting a bullet into the chomper's head.

Another chomper came out from behind a car and Ponyboy tried to shoot it but the gun only clicked. He had ran out of bullets. He reeled back his arms when the chomper got too close and ran, only taking one more look at the town.

Ponyboy only stopped running when he lost the chompers in the dust. He wished that he could run forever. At least then, he wouldn't be plagued by thoughts and he could run away from his problems. Ponyboy felt nothing. Soda's death was different than his parents. Even though he should be depressed, he felt numb, and it was horrible. He was slightly thankful that he wasn't a sobbing mess and wasn't dragged back by the emotional trauma, but feeling nothing was worse than feeling something. Ponyboy almost wanted to feel pain because he deserved to suffer after what he did.

A car drove passed him and Ponyboy watched it pass before the break lights turned on. Ponyboy tensed up more and more as he approached. The window was rolled down and from inside he could see a family of three, but he didn't stop to ask what they wanted.

"Hey, kid, come back!" called the father, making him speed up his walk, but was forced to stop when the car moved to pull up in front of him. His hands ghosted to where his gun rested at his side only to realize that there were no bullets and he would have to bluff his way out of this situation. The family didn't seem to notice the movement and continued talking. "Why are you all alone?"

Ponyboy shifted, narrowing his eyes. The mother must have seen the change in atmosphere and just apologized and changed the question. "Where are you heading."

"The safe zone," he replied.

"That's in Laurel, right?" She turned towards her husband and he nodded. "Why don't you climb in and we can give you a lift. Laurel is on the way, anyways."

"I'm fine." Ponyboy didn't mean to be rude, but, after what happened with those men, he couldn't trust anyone—no matter if they looked trustable or not.

"No offense, kid, it looks like you're about to collapse. You can trust us. We'll take you to Laurel," the father interjected.

"I can walk there."

The father looked back and pointed to a group of chompers that were catching up. Ponyboy bit his lips. He really wished he had bullets. Ponyboy supposed he could continue running, but he couldn't tell how much longer he could continue. He looked back to the parents and the little girl that was passed out in the back seat before making his decision. Ponyboy climbed into the backseat and the father pressed the accelerator. He watched again as the chompers turned into dots in the road before turning around, hand still over his gun just in case.

"We're on our way to Florida to meet with relatives and then to Washington DC. The capital should be the most protective place in the country," the mother said, trying to start a conversation. "Are you meeting anyone?"

"Yeah."

The mother's small smile faltered for a second at Ponyboy's lack of interest and distrust. She spun completely around in her seat, unstrapping the seatbelt. Ponyboy leaned away and reached over to grab the gun. The mother grabbed his chin and inspected the blood. "Whos blood is this?

"A chomper," he lied, as she moved back to her seat. She nodded after shooting one more pitying look. Ponyboy relaxed, listening to the quiet snores of the girl and looked out the window. Slowly, his eyes closed and he drifted into deep sleep.

It felt like he only was a sleep for a minute before he was jerked forward. His eyes snapped open and his hands shot to the gun when he didn't instantly recognize the people in the car.

"Sorry. I pressed the brakes too hard," the father apologized, giving Ponyboy a sheepish smile.

Ponyboy relaxed and looked out the window. He didn't see a safe-zone or sign. They were at a split in the road in the middle of nowhere. Again, Ponyboy tensed up and he subconsciously hovered over the gun. Where were they? How long has he been out? What's going to happen to him? All of the worst possibilities as to why they stopped in the middle of nowhere came to mind.

"You're going to need to walk from here. Just go straight forward. We need to take the other road."

"Oh," Ponyboy breathed out. He opened the door and stepped out. "Thanks for the lift."

"No problem, and stay safe."

 **o-o-o**

The car slowed to a stop and Steve scrutinized the gas meter. They were out of gas. He spun around to wake everyone up.

"What's happening?" Darry asked.

"No gas."

"How far are we from Laurel?"

"A few miles."

"Think Ponyboy and Soda is already there?" Johnny asked.

Steve snorted. "Both of them are walking. We drove. We probably won't see them for a while."

The gang left the car and started to walk down the road, becoming more anxious the longer they went. Occasionally, they would kill a chomper that wandered onto the road. Soon enough, the sign that told them that Laurel was in one mile passed by and they were all giddy.

"Hey, a chomper," Two-Bit said, pointing to a dot ahead of them.

"I'll take care of it," Dally volunteered, looking through the scope of his gun. The chomper didn't seem to be heading their direction, but, on closer observation, it wasn't a chomper. "Is that the kid?"

"Ponyboy?" Darry instantly pipped.

"If it was him, where's Soda?" Johnny asked.

"Probably taking a dump," Two-Bit joked.

"Ponyboy!" Darry exclaimed, waving his arms in the air to grab his brother's attention.

Ponyboy turned around and started to slowly walk towards them. They found his actions strange as they were sure that Ponyboy would have been running towards them. They jogged over to Ponyboy, shocked at his appearance. He was only a ghost of the boy that they last saw.

"Are you okay?" Darry asked. Ponyboy shook his head. "What happened? Where's Soda?"

Ponyboy glared at the ground, too ashamed to look in their eyes. He was hoping to see them farther down the road because he had no idea what he was going to say to them about Soda, but he didn't need to say anything.

Everyone's eyes widened upon realizing that Soda was gone. Darry roughly pulled his hair and pressed his lips tightly together. His eyes were dark and solemn. Steve had a similar expression, but it seemed like he was sorting through his emotions as if he didn't know which one to feel.

Loud sobs broke the shocked silence. Johnny sank to his knees, hands covering his face. He sunk down, laying his forehead on his knees. Two-Bit forced his look away, but it was obvious that he was bawling his eyes out.

A loud crack ripped through the sobbing and everyone turned their attention towards the source. Dally had slammed his fists into a tree, cracking the bark. His face twitched with rage as he threw the ammunition bag against the ground. He spun his attention to Ponyboy and marched over, causing him to flinch and move back a few steps.

"Whose blood is that? Is that Soda's? How did he die?"

Ponyboy's voice got caught in his throat. "I…I…"

"Spit it out."

"Dally…" Darry warned. "Lay off."

"I'm sorry…" Ponyboy muttered quickly, almost to the point where his words were inaudible. "I...killed Soda. I had no choice. He was dying and couldn't move anymore. He begged me. He would have turned and…" Ponyboy stopped, digging his nails into his palms. His heart clenched as emotions finally began bubbling up. He glanced up from the ground and instantly regretted it. Their faces were mortified and all of them turned away from him. Ponyboy exchanged his look to his bloodied hands that took the life of his brother.

Everything hurt. Ponyboy's vision wavered, darkness creeping from his corners at a rapid rate. Before he knew it, the ground rushed to meet him and the last thing he heard was Dally saying, "Shit, kid."

 **o-o-o**

 **Replies:**

 **Guest (1)- Thank you so much. As for your ideas, you'll just have to wait and see what I plan to do with everyone. I'm certain that you wouldn't be disappointed. ;)**

 **Guest (2)- A long while, if not his entire life. Ponyboy's personality has now shifted as showing in this chapter and it'll only get worse for him.** is


	8. Chapter 8

Ponyboy woke up to his world rocking. His half-lidded eyes drifted towards the dark mop of hair, hands shooting towards the gun, but it wasn't there. He blinked in confusion, panic settling in, before he realized that the person who was carrying him was Darry.

"He's awake," Two-Bit said. Heads turned to the youngest who was let down from the Darry's back.

"How do you feel?" Darry asked, worry etched in his eyes.

Ponyboy remembered what had happened before he passed out and looked at the ground. "I'm fine."

Ponyboy must have not been out for that long because, the gang were just now arriving at Laurel. Laurel itself wasn't all too big, but it was big enough to be a hassle to build a wall around. Towering stakes stuck out of the ground in random directions, some stabbing into chompers who were still trying to break in, and others skewering chompers as if Vlad the Impaler had risen from the grave to set an example.

The gang all found themselves swallowing their thick saliva as they approached. Their skin tingled at the grumble of chompers.

"Hello?" Darry asked loudly at the door. There was no answer. "Is someone there? We would like to take refuge here."

"This is Laurel, right?" Two-Bit asked after no response.

"Well, unless someone just put that sign there…" Steve trailed off, gesturing to a sign that was about to fall off the wall.

Johnny stepped forward and tried to look through the cracks in the gaps, but the safe-zone seemed to be empty. He lightly pushed the gate open. "It looks abandoned."

"It can't be…" Ponyboy muttered, taking a closer look, but Johnny was right.

"Maybe they're deeper in. You know, having a meeting, or something?"

"Maybe. Are we going in?"

"Yeah," Darry answered, "but we have to be careful."

The gang entered the safe-zone, closing the gate behind them. This was going to take them forever to search. The gang passed by every window, making sure to look through each of the buildings. They were all empty for a short while, until they reached a particular home.

Ponyboy peered through the windows, catching movement deep inside. "There's someone in there," he informed, walking to the door.

"Hold on," Darry said, stopping Ponyboy right before he could open the door. "Let one of us go in before you."

Even though he was upset that Darry would still treat him like a kid, Ponyboy complied, backing away from the door.

Steve opened the door, letting everyone waltz in right after him. He walked to the back of the house where Ponyboy saw the movement. They all felt bad about going in the house and knew something was up, but they had to continue their pursuit just in case they were wrong.

As soon as Steve made it to the back, a chomper popped out from behind the corner, making them all jump backwards. Steve cocked his shotgun, and, without thinking, shot it in the head.

The loud noise attracted walkers from all around the safe-zone. The first chomper that hit the window of the house, brought all of them to attention that this safe-zone was no longer safe, but infested.

They ran back to the front entrance before any more chompers could appear, slamming through the door. There were dozens upon dozens of walkers scattered around, making it almost impossible to walk around.

"Come on!" Dally yelled, pulling them deeper into Laurel. He shot a few that got too close, but as the hoard grew denser, they had to retreat into a hospital. Not the first choses choice of refuge, but in these circumstances, the worst place could be the best place.

They barged into the hospital, blocking the door with anything they could find in the area. The chompers pounded against the door, but couldn't break in, at least not yet. The gang spun around to take care of the chompers that were already inside the hospital, bashing their heads in with the guns.

They ran deeper into the hospital, stopping only when they reached a chained door. The words: _DON'T OPEN, DEAD INSIDE,_ " was written in red (what the red was, they didn't want to know). The door opened, only to be stopped by the chains. A small gap was left between the doors, and chompers' rotting hand reached out, clawing the door.

The gang continued through the hospital, passing by many chained doors along the way. They ducked into a room for a breather and to figure out their next step. Two chompers turned their heads towards the gang, their bodies torn apart, leaving only a trail of blood from their lower half to the top half. They dragged their bodies closer.

"What happened here?" Two-Bit asked, eyeing the chompers that were inching towards them. "I thought this was a safe zone."

"It only takes one person to be bitten for disaster. Everyone wants to survive, so they end up not telling anyone. The walls enclose everyone in, so that no one can escape the surprise," Dally hypothesized.

"What do we do?"

"Well, first of all, we gotta beat it out of here."

"Yeah, but how?" Steve asked.

There was only one way out of the hospital and that was through the hoard of chompers. "We have to go through."

"You're crazy," Darry said.

Ponyboy stirred in his spot, eyes casted to his feet. His hands clenched tightly, narrowing his eyes as he remembered about Soda. "Out of your mind…" he whispered.

"What?" Johnny asked.

"Nothing…"

"We need to go now. We can get through a back entrance; loop around," Steve said.

"What if we can't fend off the chompers?" Ponyboy asked.

"We need more firepower," Dally agreed. The gang all looked at Ponyboy with uncertainty and distrust. They didn't want any chances of him killing anymore. _They didn't want him to kill the living_. Ponyboy was surprised that even Dally was reluctant in letting him use a gun.

"We're not giving him a gun," Darry rejected. "We can stay here until the chompers spread out."

"We'll die if we stay. Look, I don't care if you take the gun away later, but we need to get out of here."

Darry finally nodded, letting Dally hand Ponyboy a handgun and some extra bullets. Two-Bit swung open the door and the gang rushed out of the room, closing the door in the chompers that resided in the room's face.

The gang rushed down the corridors, pushing through the chompers. Their clothes were grabbed, but they pulled away. The gang shot their guns, not even accounting where their bullets were hitting. Adrenaline pumped through their veins as they jumped over carts and wheel chairs. It was hard to see where they were going with what was going on around them.

Dally shoved a chomper back before shooting a bullet in its head. Getting through was becoming significantly harder. They burst through the hospital, and somehow made it to the gate. They pushed open the doors and was about to close them when Two-Bit was pulled back. He let out a surprised yell as a chomper's teeth came dangerously close to his arm.

The chomper's head swung back, falling to the ground, and Two-Bit pulled away. Ponyboy lowered his gun. "Come on, let's go," he said.

 **o-o-o**

 **Replies:**

 **Guest: I think you mean, the gang xD**

 **Cookieswafflesandfanfic: Yeah, at least. At least they practically forgave Ponyboy now too ^^;**


	9. Chapter 9

"We need to go this way," Darry stated pointing to a direction at the split of the road.

"No, we need to go that way,' Steve rejected, pointing the other direction.

"That's the way to the town."

"We need to get more supplies."

"We have plenty."

Steve let out a frustrated sigh. He was in a lot of pain from the continual walking. They had been hiking aimlessly for months. They didn't have a place to go. They were just surviving. "Why not? I'm tired."

"We need to keep moving. It's dangerous in towns."

"It's just as dangerous anywhere else."

"We have to keep going."

"And go where? We've been walking for so long. I don't even know where we are or if we've been walking in circles for months."

"Where are we supposed to go? All we can do is survive, and moving around towns is the only way we could do that."

With each word they sputtered, they became more irritated. Steve crossed his arms to not only display his annoyance, but restrain some of his anger. "Why do you get to make all the decisions? It's not all about you. Look around you. Don't you see that we can't keep on like this, or are really all brawn, no brains?"

Dally, Ponyboy, Johnny, and Two-Bit watched the argument back and forth, shifting uncomfortably. They stood a bit back, silently; not knowing what to do. It was true that they all wanted to rest, and was surprised that Steve would try to help them, but they were sure that he was only using their exhaustion for his benefit.

Darry growled. "We need someone to make decisions or we will never get anywhere."

"We already aren't going anywhere."

Two-Bit stepped forward pushing the two greasers apart. "Stop fighting. You're all tired and stressed out. We don't need to be fighting. If we need rest, then we can rest here and continue later," he suggested, but the two ignored him.

"Do you think that you can do better?" Darry asked, pushing Two-Bit aside. "If you don't like how I'm doing things, then you lead. I'm sick of your complaining."

"I think I will. Let's go to the town."

Darry grumbled and motioned everyone forward, lagging behind to cool himself down. Steve led the gang down the road towards the small town. Although they would usually stop to rest in a couple more hours (before nightfall), they headed straight to a house, entering it with no difficulties.

Two-Bit flicked out his switch-blade as soon as his eyes caught a chomper that was walking towards them. He jogged up to it, stabbing it in the head. He pulled the sticky, red blade back, letting the body fall to the ground in a heap. The gang checked the house. Fortunately, the house was clear of any chompers. Afterwards, they sat down in the living room, resting their bodies. Steve was about to fall asleep when Darry's voice broke the peaceful silence. "So what about supplies? You said we needed more," he challenged.

Not wanting to look like a bad leader, Steve replied, "Yeah, we do. We'll go on a run in the morning." The two glared at each other. Ponyboy wished that Soda was there to cool everything down. Soda was the only person that could calm both Darry and Steve down besides his parents. But now that they are all gone (thanks to him), there was no one in the world that could take the role of peace-keeper. The thought depressed him and Ponyboy decided to find Johnny.

"Hey, Ponyboy," he greeted when Ponyboy sat next to him.

"Hey, Johnnycakes."

"What's wrong?" Johnny cocked his head slightly, eyebrows scrunching together.

"What do you mean?"

"You're sad."

Ponyboy sighed. "I'm fine. I just thought about how it would be different if Soda was here."

Johnny nodded in understanding as he looked to his hands. "Do you feel guilty?"

"Do you see me as a murderer?"

There was a pause. "Is that what's bothering you? You know I don't see you as a murderer."

"But I am. I killed Soda. I'm the only one who took a life in the gang."

"No you're not. Dally killed someone to protect us when we were separated a ways back."

"Then why did you act like I was some sort of monster back then?"

"I was just shocked, that's all."

"Right…" Ponyboy leaned his head back, feeling a _bit_ better after the talk.

 **o-o-o**

The following morning, Steve, along with Darry and Dally, left to raid houses after finding the house empty. Both Johnny and Ponyboy were exploring the house. They barged in every room to find activities to do while they waited. The only thing they uncovered were piles of snazzy books with ornate covers. Two-Bit was lounging in the living room, looking at pictures of women wearing skimpy clothing in a magazine.

The backdoor to the house creaked open, and Two-Bit thought that Dally, Steve, and Darry came back earlier than what they had perceived. He threw the magazine away and walked to the kitchen to greet them. Two-Bit was about to round the corner and tell them that they were early, but stopped when he heard an unfamiliar, gruff voice. He froze in his place, peeking around the corner.

A dozen men and women were standing in the kitchen, all armed. They all wore cold gazes, body scared up and hair messy. Two-Bit backed away slowly, careful not to make even the slightest noise. He glanced up the stairs to where Johnny and Ponyboy were. He hoped that they knew what was happening and were hiding, because the group will search the house in the matter of seconds.

Two-Bit entered the bathroom as soon as the group left the kitchen. He stepped into the bathtub, hiding himself behind the shower curtain. He flinched when the group pounded against the walls in attempts to draw out any chompers.

At the loud bangs, Johnny's and Ponyboy's attention shifted to the door. They looked at each other with worried eyes.

"Should I check?" Ponyboy asked, already heading for the door, but was pulled back.

Johnny shook his head, skin turning pale. "Hide," he ordered quietly. Johnny entered the small closet, masking himself the hanging clothes.

Ponyboy slid under the bed, blood turning cold at the clacks of the heavy footsteps climbed the stairs. One-by-one, doors swung open, coming closer. Ponyboy glanced at Johnny who looked petrified, eyes wider than plates as he gently closed the closet door.

Shadows manifested under the crack of the door. Ponyboy covered his mouth in an attempt to completely mute him. In an instance, the door swung open and it took all of Ponyboy's power not to jump back and shake the bed.

"All rooms upstairs are clear," the woman that entered the room declared. "I think I'm going to take this room."

"You mean: we," a male corrected, sneaking up behind the woman. She laughed as she closed the door. She spun around, standing close to the male, and before Ponyboy knew what was happening, they fell on the bed. The mattress dipped, touching his back. Ponyboy wanted nothing more than to move, but he stayed still, eyes shut tightly as he prayed that they couldn't feel him under them.

A muffled groan caught his attention before the man whispered, "Quiet. You don't want to others to hear us, right?"

Ponyboy's face exploded in color. If Ponyboy hadn't been "enlightened" about how babies are born by Two-Bit a while back, he wouldn't have known what the man meant. The bed shook and creaked, forcing Ponyboy to let out a surprised gasp as he prayed that the two wouldn't bang each other while he was under them. Heck, he didn't want to be _in the same room_ as them.

However, the two didn't have sex like Ponyboy thought they would. It was much worse. Hands grabbed onto Ponyboy and dragged him out from under the bed.


	10. Chapter 10

Ponyboy screamed as he kicked his legs, trying free himself from the hands. His nails dug helplessly in the floorboards, desperately attempting to stay under the little protection of the bed. At one point, Ponyboy's foot hit the guy's nose, causing him to yelp, but that only made the situation worse.

"You little shit!" the man screamed, completely dragging him out from under the bed. Ponyboy continued to struggle against his captor's hold, only causing the man to become more irritated and the grip to tighten.

"What are you doing here?" the woman demanded, glaring at the young boy.

Ponyboy knew when to shut his mouth, and this was the time. He knew that he shouldn't say anything. Ponyboy looked away dejectedly. The man growled at his lack of cooperation, roughly grabbing him by the hair.

"Is anyone else here?"

Ponyboy kept his eyes fixated away from where Johnny was hiding as well as the two that were looming over him. He kept his lips shut, although he felt like breaking down. The man removed his hands from Ponyboy's hair, much to his relief, but was once again grabbed and was pulled towards the door. Ponyboy's eyes went wide as he instinctively grabbed onto the bed legs to keep himself anchored in the room.

The woman stomped on his wrists, forcing him to release the bed legs. The man begun dragging him outside the room, and Ponyboy tried to grab onto anything. His hand curled around the gun that was sticking out of his holster. Without thinking, Ponyboy sat up, and pointed the gun at the man. The man froze, looking shocked.

"H-Hey, kid. Put that down. You don't know what you're doing," the man said, lightening his grip slightly. Ponyboy's hands shook as he held up the gun. He couldn't shoot the man, could he? It would only take one movement of the finger to save his life. Ponyboy promised himself that he would kill another living being, but time has changed and his life was depending on it. Just one fluid movement and it would be over.

A thump from the closet broke Ponyboy out from his trance. He lowered the gun, skin clammy and pale. The two adults looked at each other before she pulled out a knife and walked over to the closet. Both Ponyboy's and Johnny's heart were in their throats. Ponyboy wanted to scream for Johnny to escape, but there wouldn't be any point. They knew he was in there.

She threw open the closet door, brandishing the knife. Johnny was crouching down, pushing himself in the corner of the closet, and looking like he was about to pass out in any moment.

"It's another kid," the woman said, lowering the knife.

While the woman was busy dragging Johnny out, the man snatched Ponyboy's gun, banging it against his head. Ponyboy's body went stiff as his world became disoriented. His body was flung over the man's shoulder as he carried Ponyboy down the stairs to the living room. Right behind them, Johnny was being pushed forward, a knife to his throat.

They were forced to sit on their knees in the living room. The other intruders in the house entered the living room to see what was going on. Johnny looked around the room, not seeing Two-Bit anywhere.

"Who are these kids?" one person asked.

"We found them in one of the rooms," the woman answered.

One of them bent down in front of Ponyboy, grabbing the small hand gun to his face, tapping it on his forehead. "Is this yours?" he asked.

Ponyboy stiffly nodded, thinking that the best way for survival at this point was to shut up and listen. "Shit, kid. Never would have thought." He turned to the others. "Check the house again. Make sure that not even a corner is left unexamined. Let's find their people."

Johnny and Ponyboy looked at each other. They didn't know where Two-Bit was. Heck, he could have high tailed it out of here by now if it wasn't for the fact that they knew he wouldn't do that. When they find Two-Bit, none of them knew what would happen. They could be dead by the time the others get back.

The others…

What would happen if the gang returns? Would they instantly be killed?

The door opened and their loud voices boomed in the house. "We're back," Darry called out.

"So they're here… Stop searching the house."

The man maneuvered himself behind Ponyboy, pressing his gun to his temple. Johnny was placed on gunpoint as well. They wanted to scream at them to leave the house while they could, but it was too late. They entered the living room, weaponless. Their eyes locked onto the youngest members, processing what was happening in an instant, but it was too late. Before they could react, they were pushed to their knees, guns pointed at the back of their heads.

Darry looked at Johnny and Ponyboy for some sort of answer, but all they could look was afraid.

"What should we do with them?" one guy asked, cocking his gun. "Shall we dispose of them?"

One man, obviously their leader, waved off the suggestion. "No, no. We can use them."

"How so?"

"We're running out of people. We can use them."

"Like hell we would just do what you say," Steve retorted.

A loud yell, followed by breaking glass and items falling, caught their attention. The bathroom door flung open, two-Bit stumbling out seconds later. He was shoved to the floor by a masculine man.

"I found this one in the bathroom," the man informed the leader.

"Another one? Boy, it's not your lucky day," the leader chuckled. His unnerving, lighthearted expression turned dark and chilling to the bone. "And you. I thought I told everyone to cease looking around the house."

"Y-You did, sir. I'm sorry."

"No, no. I totally understand. Actually, this is perfect." The laughed darkly again. The man that brought Two-Bit in laughed as well, but his smile soon dropped at the leader's next words. "You'll be a great example on what would happen if they don't follow orders."

The leader raised Ponyboy's gun shooting a bullet straight in the man's head without hardly even a look. The man's body fell over Two-Bit in a heap. All the gang could do was stare in shock.

"Now, are you going to follow me, or not? If not, there are a lot of those freaks outside and we can use a decoy."

"We're not going to follow you," Dally declared, glaring at the man; ignoring the warning looks from the gang. He sat up straighter, sharpening his eyes.

"Holy shit, man. You got guts. Do all of you have guts? First, the kid with the gun. Then this? The only one of your people who didn't show guts is him!" The man jabbed his finger at Two-Bit. "You hid while your people were here. Where's your guts? The last thing my people need is some gutless fool."

There was silence, anticipation rising by the second. The leader pointed at Dally and continued, "Don't think that what you said won't have any consequences. I have to give you people a lesson on what will happen if you stand up to me."

The leader spun around to Two-Bit, grabbing him by the arm to lift him to his feet. Two-Bit complied without much resistance. The leader unscabbarded his machete, letting the slick blade gleam in the sunlight. In one swift moment, the man plunged the machete into Two-Bit's stomach, cutting him open.

Two-Bit let out a surprised, pained gasp. He tried to close the gaping wound with his hands in a panic, but all he could do is let his intestines slither through his fingers. The mass of his intestines was too much, and his guts fell to the floor, leaving his bloody hands. Two-Bit's knees gave out from under him, and he stumbled to the ground next to the dead body. His body twitched as he struggled to retrieve his organs. Blood was pooling out of him and Johnny couldn't help himself from vomiting.

Ponyboy's breath caught in his throat as he watched the scene. He swallowed back the food in his stomach. His mouth was agape, eyes wide and teary.

"Fuck!" Steve screamed with a similar expression as Ponyboy. Both Dally and Darry stared at Two-Bit's twitching body, unable to tear their eyes away.

The leader laughed like Two-Bit dying was the most hilarious event in the world. He turned around, fumbling with items in the living room before opening the closet door, taking out a wooden baseball bat. He took a few swings with it in amusement. "Well, he did have guts. He just didn't show it. My bad."

Dally tried to lunge at the man, but was stopped by the window crashing open and the growls of chompers broke through the house. In seconds the house was stuffed with chompers, forcing everyone to retreat away. The chompers consumed Two-Bit's barely alive body, sinking their hands and teeth into his body.

The leader laughed and swung his bat into a stray chomper, shaking his head.

 **o-o-o**

 **Can anyone guess who this character is? .**


	11. Chapter 11

The rickety truck dipped and jumped at every little bump in the road. The rusty department where the gang was stuck in was dark, only a few small beams of light shone through the bullet holes. Their bodies lifted up from the floor whenever the truck would run over a chomper—the sickening sound of bodies crunching and sloshing with the tires was the worst. None of them could see. None of them knew where they were going. They just knew that they were screwed.

Both Johnny and Ponyboy were situated next to each other, arms pressing together, reassuring that they were there and alive, but their contact was short-lived. The door swung open, light flooding into the department. The gang squinted and covered their red, puffy eyes as blurred figures grabbed at them, dragging them out of the department.

They were pushed forward, through a narrow path between two fences. Chompers pushed against the fences which bent dangerously inwards. They couldn't look around too much because of the abundance of chompers, blocking their sight.

The gang entered a giant factory, not even getting the time to look around before they were forced into another room, the door locking behind them. They were alone again, but this time there were guards standing outside the door.

Darry slammed his fists into the wall. Not satisfied, he slammed his fists into the wall again and again until blood started seep through his knuckles and the concrete wall began to crack.

"Calm down," Steve shouted, grabbing Darry's arm to stop him from continuing. Darry spun around, rage evident on his face.

"Calm down? Two-Bit's dead and we're trapped here just waiting to die!" Darry exclaimed. "If we didn't go to the town, we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"No one could have known," Johnny defended, trying to end the argument before it could get too far.

Darry growled. "That may be," he said, turning to Dally, "but you could have shut your trap. You were the one that initially got Two-Bit killed!"

"Hey, he was going to use us as bait!" Dally defended, taking a step closer.

"Look at that! He still is!"

"Fuck off!" Dally pushed Darry back. Darry looked appalled for a second before he shoved Dally a lot harder.

"Knock it off!" Steve ordered, trying to push Darry away. Johnny ran forward to try to coax Dally into backing off. It worked, for the most part, but Darry wanted to drag the fight on as long as possible, it seemed.

"See? Because you want to start fights is the reason why this happened!" Darry broke free from Steve and pushed Dally, who immediately reciprocated by throwing a punch. The next few moments were a blur for everyone. Limbs were thrown out and tangled, blood was getting everywhere. Johnny and Steve were trying their best to break them apart.

"Darry, stop!" Ponyboy screamed, trying to help Steve pry off Darry. Darry spun around so fast, Ponyboy had to take a step back. Without realizing what he did, Darry punched Ponyboy square in the face.

For a moment, Ponyboy's body went numb as he felt the earth disappear from under him. As soon as he hit the floor, pain erupted through his face and he cried out in pain. Tears stung his eyes as Ponyboy looked up towards his older brother, who was looking at his fist in shock.

"Ponyboy…" Darry muttered and tried to step forward, but stopped when Ponyboy flinched and looked at him with fear.

The door slammed open and the armed guards rushed in, grabbing them separately.

"What the fuck happened?" one yelled, but didn't wait for an answer before dragging everyone but Darry out of the room, locking it behind them.

They took each person in separate rooms instead of the same.

It felt like a millennium before Ponyboy's door opened. His cheek was swollen and bruised, but he had mostly calmed down since the violent fiasco.

"Get up," the guard ordered. Ponyboy complied, following the man out of the room to another room deeper in. Ponyboy swallowed thickly, legs shaking as the guard knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice answered.

"Get in." The guard pushed Ponyboy in the room.

The leader of the group was seated on a sofa, playing aimlessly with the wooden bat. He smiled over at Ponyboy, motioning him over to the spot next to him. Ponyboy sat away, scooting as far away as he could. He eyed the man wearily as if he could pounce on him at any second. "Geez, kid, relax!"

"What do you want?" Ponyboy asked, not able to stop his voice was trembling.

"I just want to check if you're okay! I heard about what happened."

"I'm fine."

Without warning, Ponyboy's face was grabbed and tilted to be examined. "Really? That bruise looks nasty! He got you good!"

Ponyboy slapped the hand away. A risky move, but, though not assuring, he got a laugh as a reaction.

"You're a tough kid. I like you, but something tells me that you are still a wimp. I want you to prove that you have balls."

"How so?" Ponyboy squeaked out.

"Bring it in!"

The door opened and a chomper was pushed inside the room. Ponyboy pushed himself farther back as the chomper approached them.

"I really like you and I don't want anything to happen to you, but I have to know," the man continued, taking out a knife. He handed it Ponyboy. "Kill it. I'll be back."

Ponyboy was left alone with the chomper. He stumbled out of the couch to run to the farthest wall away. The chomper turned around and approached him. Ponyboy couldn't keep running. If he wanted to survive, he had to kill the chomper. Not only was he too short to reach the chomper's head (his growth spurt had just started), but he didn't want to get close.

Ponyboy fumbled with the knife, deciding how he was going to take the chomper down. He had to somehow knock it off its feet. Ponyboy ran around the chomper, kicking the coffee table to block its path. Unfortunately, the chomper walked around the table, grabbing Ponyboy's shoulders. With a stifled scream, Ponyboy kicked the chomper's knees, forcing it to fall on the ground. Before it could get up or grab Ponyboy, he stabbed it in the head.

Ponyboy pulled back when the door opened again and another chomper was pushed inside. Chompers was pushed in one after the other until there was barely any room to move around freely. Ponyboy was covered head to toe in chomper blood, looking disheveled. The door opened again and Ponyboy held up the knife, but instead of another chomper, the man came back, looking around the room in mock surprise.

"Shit, kid. This room reeks and you made a mess!" While the man was examining the room, Ponyboy slipped the knife in his sleeve, praying that the man didn't see the action. "Take him back and get the other kid."

Ponyboy was taken out of the room by a guard. He felt the cool metal of the blade against his forearm as he contemplated on when he should take it out and escape. His initial thought was to wait until he reached the room, but he had to act now of Johnny might die.


	12. Chapter 12

It was now or never. Ponyboy didn't want to do it, but he had too. The thought of what he is about to do made him sick to his stomach. The knife slid out of his sleeve and into his hands. He dug his fingers in the leather as he stopped walking. The gun pressed into Ponyboy's back and he couldn't help but swallow his saliva. In one motion, everything will be over. One of them was going to end up dead.

"Why'd you stop? Keep walking," the guard ordered.

Taking a deep breath, Ponyboy spun around before the guard could figure out what was happening. He swung out his arm, slicing the man in the throat. Ponyboy was lucky that the man didn't have his finger on the trigger or he would have gotten shot. The man dropped his gun to hold his split throat. He gave Ponyboy a shocked look as he was pushed to the ground by the boy himself. To end his pain, Ponyboy stabbed the man in the head.

Swallowing his vomit, Ponyboy scooped up the gun, putting the knife away, and ran for it. Ponyboy didn't know where he was going or when the corpse will be discovered, but he had to move fast. He peeked in every room he passed, hiding before he could get caught.

"Hey, you there!" a voice boomed behind him. Ponyboy sprinted down the long corridor, taking glances back to the guards chasing him. Ponyboy couldn't take fire on them, the noise would attract too much attention. He swerved around the corner, ducking into a room before the guards could see him. He looked around the room but it was empty.

Ponyboy waited until the hallway was clear before moving on. He was sure that everyone was informed of his escape. He ran, almost passing an offsetting part of the wall. Ponyboy pushed the almost-invisible-to-the-eye door to the side and entered right before he heard the clacks of running feet.

After closing the door behind him, Ponyboy ventured deeper in the new hallway, almost wishing that he hadn't. The silhouettes of guards stretched out on the wall, growing smaller by the second. That means they were getting closer. Panicking, Ponyboy pressed his back against the wall. The guards turned around the corner, locking eyes with the young boy. Ponyboy shoved the closest back and ran, but he didn't make it very far. The other guard grabbed him, slamming the boy against the wall. Ponyboy let out a pained gasp as the wind was knocked out of him. As soon as he regained his composure, the guard punched him, sending him crashing to the ground. Blood dribbled down Ponyboy's cracked lips and he scrubbed it away with the back of his hand.

Hands grabbed the scruff of his shirt, pulling him backwards to his feet. "Looks like this one escaped. Should we take him in?"

Ponyboy's eyes widened. He was not going back. He spun around, slightly chocking himself, sinking his teeth in the holder's arm. The guard let out a loud yelp, shoving Ponyboy away. Ponyboy scrambled to his feet, racing down the corridors. Once again, he was caught before he could get far. He was shoved back to the ground, arm hitting something hard along the way down. A body loomed over him, pressing a gun to his temple.

Ponyboy shut his eyes at the sound of the gun cocking. His nails dug crescents into his palms. He was going to die and so was everyone else. A part of Ponyboy was glad that he doesn't have to do this anymore, but he didn't want to be the reason of everyone's death.

He waited for the gun shot, but it never came. The pressure that was on top of him was released. Ponyboy's eyes shot open to see the guard was unconscious. Ponyboy's gun that he stole was nowhere near him.

Johnny was standing over him, the gun in his hand, pointing it towards the other guard who had his arms in the air in surrender. Johnny slowly approached him, knocking the bun in his head, knocking him out.

"Are you okay?" Johnny asked, turning to Ponyboy.

"Yeah… How did you get out?" Ponyboy answered.

Johnny motioned to the open door. "I think you opened it when you fell."

"They left the door unlocked?" Ponyboy raised his eyebrow and Johnny shrugged.

"There was probably no lock or they thought we wouldn't try anything. How did you get out? Why are you covered in blood?"

"They wanted to test me and made me kill a bunch of chompers." Ponyboy shivered at the uncanny memory, choosing to not tell that some of the blood was from a living person.

"Are you okay? You weren't bit?"

"I'm fine. We need to find the others."

It wasn't hard to find everyone else. It turns out that their rooms were right next to each other. When they opened the door, their friends looked surprised, but exited the room without any question since there was no time to dawdle. When they opened Darry's door, the older brother looked at Ponyboy with uncertainty, shocked at his appearance.

"Ponyboy…" he muttered, unsure on what he should do after what he did to him.

"We have to go," Ponyboy said, " _now_."

Darry swallowed the lump in his throat, nodding. He could talk to Ponyboy afterwards. Johnny and Ponyboy passed the gang the guns they stole from the guards.

Running through the factory was like maneuvering through a living maze. It seemed like they were ending up in the same dead-end, and loud yells echoed off of the walls. They were running through an intersection when Ponyboy was shoved against the wall, head slamming against the wall. A knife pressed into his neck before he could refocus his eyes. Its sharp blade cut into his skin, drawing blood that dribbled to the floor. Ponyboy groaned, trying to push his head back as far as possible.

Ponyboy thought that the gang would rip the man off of him, but they were all held down.

"Don't struggle or he's going to get it," the man holding the knife to Ponyboy's throat said. He pressed the knife deeper and Ponyboy couldn't help but let out a gasp of pain.

"Stop!" Darry barked.

"You lot caused a lot of trouble. I hope you receive the worst punishment." While the man was talking, Ponyboy reached behind him where he kept the knife. He slipped the weapon out, stabbing it into the man's outstretched arm. The blade gashed through his arm, cutting through his skin like it was butter. The man screamed, dropping the knife as if it was smoldering hot.

The gang went into action, pushing their holders off of them. Darry bashed his head into the person holding him before grabbing the man who was holding his wounded arm.

Ponyboy's heart stopped when his eyes caught a glare. "Darry, knife!" he warned. The man slashed the knife at Darry's face. The gang watched in horror as Darry stumbled backwards as blood flew through the air. Blood dribbled down his cheek from the long, deep cut that stretched from his nostril to his ear.

Darry recovered quickly, grabbing the knife arm and pushing his hand so that the point of the blade was facing the holder. The man's arm shook as he tried to push the knife back, but Darry was far more built. The man's arm buckled before giving up. His arm went slack causing the knife to enter through his neck and though his jaw. The man's mouth was ajar, revealing the cutting blade that pierced through. He gargled blood, the deep red color highlighting the spaces between his teeth, darkening his mouth considerably.

Darry looked horrified as he drew back. He examined his hand as if he couldn't recognize them.

"We have to go!" Dally reminded him, snapping him out of his trance.

"Right…"

Dally kicked the man he knocked out one last time before the gang raced through the factory.

"Over there!" Steve yelled at them, pointing to the exit. They slammed through the door and thought they were home-free, but bullets whizzed around them, creating craters in the ground. They ran their fastest, feeling as if they were about to face-plant. Then, Johnny screamed as a bullet passed through his stomach. He doubled over, pressing his hand against one side of the bullet hole. He gasped for air as he tried to crawl forward, but was failing.

"Johnny!"

Johnny was scooped up by Dally, eyes heavy and an unbearable pain shooting through his body that he was too weak to react to. He felt the world slip around him, as darkness settled in.

"Shit, stay with me!" someone screamed but the voice was too distant and Johnny found himself completely drifting away.


	13. Chapter 13

Johnny was placed in the backseat of the car. Everyone tried to cram inside to make sure that the greaser was alright, but was swatted away by Darry.

"We need to find a doctor!" he declared.

"Where are we supposed to find a doctor that would willingly use supplies in time?" Steve snorted but glanced worriedly at the younger.

Darry hesitated. "If we can't find a doctor, then we have to do it ourselves."

"With what? Everything we gathered was stolen."

"Just find another car. We don't have much time." Darry hopped in the driver's seat and Dally sat in the passenger's seat. Steve and Ponyboy found another car, quickly hotwiring it before following behind the other car. Darry pressed on the gas, speeding though the road. He glanced over to Johnny who was bleeding profusely. "Slow down the blood flow."

Dally nodded, removing his jacket and reached back to cover the wounds. In seconds the jacket was drenched in blood. Darry swerved in the first driveway he saw, followed by Steve. They exited the cars, Dally scooping Johnny back up who had gone pale. They slammed open the house door, killing the immediate chompers.

Steve ran to the bathroom, collecting anything that would help them. He rushed back to Darry ripping open Johnny's shirt.

"We need to clean the wound," Darry said. Steve passed him a bottle of whiskey that was lying around a few broken bottles. The bottle was mostly empty, but it was enough to utilize for cleaning. Darry poured the alcohol in a swab of fabric, wiping it across his wound. Johnny held no reaction to the sizzling wound that was exploding in a disgusting white. Darry placed his hand near the exit hole, slowly dragging the sewing needle that he received back and forth through the skin, slowly stitching it back together. Afterwards, they carefully turned Johnny over, repeating the process, then wrapping his torso in bandages.

"He lost a lot of blood," Steve muttered, looking pitifully at the ghastly teenager. "We can't transfer any blood either."

"We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

The room once again was silent as if someone had whisked away sound. They all retreated back, resting their bodies. Ponyboy was leaning against the wall, staring intently at Johnny's body, waiting for him to wake up. He didn't that Darry approached until he was sitting next to him. Ponyboy only spared a glance before looking at his worn shoes as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. For the longest while, none of them talked. Darry fiddled with his fingers, unsure of what to say. His mouth opened and closed like a gapping fish, but he was unable to produce a sound.

"I'm sorry…" Darry finally apologized. "I didn't mean to hit you."

Ponyboy turned his attention to Darry. His expression softened at Darry's apologetic expression. Ponyboy had already forgiven his brother as soon as he was hauled into the room back in the factory to face dozens of chompers. That event made it clear that there were far more dangerous people than Darry. Plus, Ponyboy didn't want any tension between them. Darry was his last family member, after all. Even though Ponyboy was never close to Darry as he was with Soda, he still loved Darry. Ponyboy touched his bruised cheek, poking at it lightly. "It's alright… It was all in the heat of the moment. You didn't mean it."

Darry raised his arm as if he was going to hug Ponyboy, but was unsure. He decided against it after holding his arm up for a while and decided on something else. "You're covered in blood. Let's clean you up." Darry stood up to grab one of the water bottles from the kitchen and a towel. He scrubbed the crusty blood from Ponyboy's face. "What happened to you?"

"They made me kill a lot of chompers."

Darry shifted, obviously uncomfortable with his little brother killing. "You're not hurt, right?"

"I'm physically fine." Mentally, he wasn't so sure. "I wasn't bit."

"We have to move," Dally interrupted. "They're going to find us."

"You're right. We should go," Darry agreed, carefully scooping up Johnny to not reopen his wounds. They made their way back to the cars, and drove until one of the cars gas ran out.

Fortunately, they were far away enough to not be found, but they were nowhere near civilization. They had no food, little water, few weapons, and Johnny who hadn't moved for hours.

Hours turned to days and Johnny still did not stir. Each passing minute, they grew even more scared. A human body could only go so long without food or water. Johnny was going to die if he didn't wake up that day.

"Come on, Johnny," Ponyboy pleaded, resting his chin on the arm rest of the couch. They were in some house in Alabama. The hoards were unbelievably huge. The gang accidently visited a city, and they were met by a sea of chompers. "Wake up." But, of course, Johnny didn't.

"Shit," Steve cursed, looking out the window.

"What?" Dally asked, joining him by the window. Cursing, he turned to everyone else. "Hoards here."

"How? Did they follow us?" Darry asked.

"Probably. We have to go now."

"Are you sure they saw us? We might be able to wait this one through."

As Darry said that, a few of the chomper's attention turned to them. "No, they definitely saw us."

"What are we supposed to do? There isn't a back entrance." Ponyboy asked.

"So, the roof again?" Steve asked.

"There's no other choice."

Dally picked up Johnny, and the gang ran to the second floor window, blocking the door of the room with furniture. The window shattered from downstairs and the gang hurriedly climbed upon the roof, assisting each other. Getting Johnny on the roof was the hardest since they couldn't do anything that would reopen the wounds.

The gang looked down at the chompers surrounding the house, wondering when they would pass. But as time ticked by, the gang were becoming even more impatient. Johnny was after all probably not going to make it.

"We're not going to make it like this," Steve decided.

"Will you be quiet?" Darry snapped.

"Why? It's not like they don't already know we're here." Steve dragged Darry to the ledge, pointing to the chompers. "How are we going to make it out of this one, Superman?"

Darry grabbed Steve's shirt. "We're going to make it. We just have to wait."

Dally and Ponyboy watched the scene. They were both so close to the edge. Ponyboy was about to yell at them to stop the argument, but Johnny's hand twitching caught his attention. Johnny's eyelids twitched and excitement filled Ponyboy.

"Johnny's waking up!" he announced, but was horrified when both of the greasers spun around so fast that their feet became unbalanced. Darry quickly caught himself, accidently whacking Steve in the chest. "Darry, Steve!"

Darry turned around as Steve's body fell backwards. He tried to reach out to catch Steve, but he ghosted over the tips of Steve's hand. Steve's body disappeared from the ledge in a second and everyone ran over, but, by that time, the chompers had consumed him.


	14. Chapter 14

The hoard eventually dispersed. Johnny chugged down the rest of their water, eyes blank from a mix of exhaustion and shock. As soon as his eyes opened from what seemed like a thousand years of sleep, Steve had disappeared from his vision; torn apart from the chompers. The gang looked down the ledge of the roof when the chompers cleared away. Blood was strewn everywhere and Steve was nowhere to be found. Guilt was the only emotion that Darry felt. He had killed Steve. Even though it wasn't his fault, Darry could prevented the death. Darry couldn't even stop Steve from turning.

They carefully descended the house, finding their way to the garage. Dally lifted the garage door before slipping inside the car. As Darry backed out of the garage and into the street, Johnny rested his head against the cold window. Ponyboy was curled up in a ball on the other side of the car. Even though Ponyboy and Steve didn't get along, Steve was like his brother. He was like everyone's brother.

Johnny wondered what would be different if he hadn't been shot. Would Steve still be alive? Everyone was dying and he felt utterly useless. He was stuck inside a healing body while his friends were doing everything. Even before he was shot, he didn't do anything. Johnny was unimportant; a burden. Everyone was putting their lives on the line to protect him.

All of a sudden, Darry slammed on the breaks. Johnny and Ponyboy flung forward, hitting the back of the front seats. Dally caught himself he could hit the window. Blood erupted on the windows as the car ran over something big. The car kept running over chompers, blood splashing the windows in waves. The car spun and Darry hastily tried to correct himself but only made the situation worse. No matter how many times he pressed on the brakes, the car wouldn't stop. One moment, the car was spinning out of control and running over chompers. The next moment, their stomachs flipped as the car flipped over. Glass shattered as the roof crumpled in. Their heads slammed against the car before everything went black.

 **o-o-o**

"Ponyboy!" Ponyboy heard, interrupting his sleep. He groaned, moving his head away from the source of the sound. He mumbled incoherent words, almost falling back into deep slumber. "Wake up!"

Ponyboy's eyes snapped open. His blood dribbled onto the ceiling. Ponyboy flipped himself over so that his neck wouldn't bend at an awkward angle. Johnny's hand was pressed against his bleeding abdomen. "Are you alright?" Ponyboy asked.

Johnny nodded. "The others aren't waking up."

Darry and Dally were unconscious in the front seat. Small shards of glass were stuck in their bleeding heads. Their stomachs were rising and falling, to their reliefs. Chompers were banging on the windows, trying break the glass even more. They knew they didn't have much time.

"Wake up. Come on!" Ponyboy pleaded, but they didn't budge. More glass was shed and the chompers reached inside.

"We don't have enough time. We have find help. They probably have a concussion," Johnny said.

"We can't just leave them."

"They'll be fine if we can cover the windows."

"But what about you? You can't move around too much."

"I'll be fine." Without realizing it, Johnny snapped. He just felt useless and wanted to finally help. Ponyboy was younger than him and yet he did a significant more. Biting his lip, Ponyboy nodded, he grabbed Darry's gun, passing it to Johnny.

"Can you open your door?"

Johnny tried, but it was jammed. "No. What about yours?"

Ponyboy tried but it was like it was welded shut. He shook his head. "I can try to break the window."

"Watch out for the chompers."

Ponyboy positioned himself on his back. He placed his foot on the glass, aiming himself. With a deep breath, Ponyboy drew back his knee then kicked his leg on the cracked glass. The glass broke a little bit each time before finally giving away. Ponyboy smiled in victory at his outstretched leg, but his smile fell when a rotting hand grabbed his ankle. His eyes widened and he reeled back, bringing the chomper's arm inside. Its face pressed against the newly-formed hole. Ponyboy grabbed his knife and stabbed it in the head.

His leg was released and Ponyboy sighed in relief. "Ready to go?" Ponyboy cleared the rest of the glass away and quickly climbed out of the car. As soon as he stood up, a chomper latched itself onto him, almost biting down into his shoulder. Johnny pushed it away and Ponyboy stabbed it.

"We need to cover the windows," Johnny suggested, covering his bloody wounds. The two cleared the chompers that were near the car before pressing sheet metal that ripped from the car against the windows. "I hope that this is good enough."

"We need to hurry."

The two scurried as fast as they could in their conditions. They needed to find something they could patch Johnny with first. Hopefully they would run into some friendly people, but who were they kidding? Most people were already dead, and, if they weren't, acting only for their benefit.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" Ponyboy asked Johnny.

"We passed a small town before the accident," Johnny replied.

But, the longer they hiked, the more apparent it became that they weren't near a town at all. As they were passing a broken car, a chomper crawled out from beneath it. It attached itself to Johnny, long nails, digging into his leg. Johnny aimed the gun and shot it before it could sink its teeth in him. Their ears rung, vision blurring for a moment.

The gunshot attracted dozens of chompers around them, more than what they can take on by themselves. They were sure that more were coming. "We have to go now," Ponyboy said and Johnny nodded in agreement.

The hoard that trapped them on the roof before followed them, more and more chompers joining the chase. Johnny's movements quickly became wobbly. He tried to hide it, but Ponyboy noticed it. He tried to help Johnny by swinging his arm around his shoulder even though that would slow them down quite a bit, but Johnny pulled away, ignoring Ponyboy's questioning stare.

"A gas station!" Johnny erupted. "Let's hide there."

They made it to the gas station, stepping over the few dead chompers inside. The two pushed shelves in front of the doors and windows, before collapsing on the ground. Ponyboy looked at Johnny with worry, getting back up to scavenge the shelves, stuffing useful objects in his pockets as he went on.

"What are you doing?" Johnny asked, voice slightly slurred.

"Finding you something to stop the bleeding."

"I'm fine."

Ponyboy stopped searching. "What's gotten into you lately? You haven't been acting the same since you woke up."

"What do you mean?"

"You've been more isolated…impendent recently, man."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. It's just… not you."

"We are all different than we were a year ago. Just look at yourself."

"Don't point this at me." Ponyboy grabbed gauze and approached Johnny. He kneeled in front of him, reaching over to help Johnny dress the wound. Johnny stopped his arm before he could.

"Save this for the others."

"You need this more than them."

"No, I don't. I don't want to waste the materials." Johnny bit his lips after realizing what he had slipped out.

"Wasting? Johnny, man, what are you talking about?"

"It's nothing."

"It's not nothing. Come on, tell me."

"Can you drop it, Ponyboy?"

Letting out a deep sigh, Ponyboy said. "Can you at least use your jacket as a bandage?"

Johnny nodded and tied it around his torso. "Better?"

"Yeah. What do you think we should do?" The gas station was surround by chompers for miles. They would be stuck waiting it out for hours that they didn't have. "The car isn't safe like this. The chompers would find Darry and Dally, and you…"

Johnny looked at his bloody torso, feeling woozy. He definitely wasn't going to make it through the herd without the proper treatment, but the others needed the supplies. He couldn't be selfish and take them.

"I have a plan, but you're not going to like it."


	15. Chapter 15

"Ponyboy find a way out. Check if we can go underground or something." When Johnny had first uttered these words, Ponyboy thought he was crazy; delusional from the loss of blood. The gas station was small, why would there be a way underground? The main room had three doors, one leading to the garage, one leading to the office, and one to the small restroom. The office and garage had no way of escaping the gas station. Ponyboy was about to return back to Johnny, but decided that checking the bathroom wouldn't hurt.

He creaked open the door, sewage smell forcing his nose to crumple. His eyes landed on the toilet that was covered in bustling ants, skin crawling, before looking at a sewage lid on the floor. His heart swelled with hope as he rushed back to Johnny, eyes wide with excitement.

"I found a way out," Ponyboy announced. Johnny's whole body relaxed, but he didn't move.

"Go ahead. I will follow you out later. I need to do something before."

"I'm not leaving without you. What do you plan to do?"

"Someone needs to distract the chompers and bring them farther away from the car."

Ponyboy frowned. "I can do that. You can go."

"I want to do it. I already know what I want to do. I'll be right behind you, don't worry."

Ponyboy didn't know why he felt so uneasy about this. Johnny could easily make a distraction and escape. Maybe it was the fake smile plastered on his face or the hopeless look that clouded his eyes. Maybe it was how Johnny acted. Ponyboy knew that something was going to happen, but he didn't know why he decided to go along with it. "Do you promise?"

"Just go. I'll be right there on the other side."

"Alright… I'll see you there. The passage is in the bathroom." Ponyboy left Johnny with one more uncertain look.

As soon as Ponyboy left, the fake smile painted on Johnny's face fell. He cracked open the door to the gas station and left. He walked into the garage and to the propane refill station that was set up. Johnny let the propane out of the station, covering his nose with his shirt. He glanced outside the garage door, seeing the gas station filled up with chompers. It was only a matter of time before they find him.

Johnny's vision blurred again. His body felt like it was going to drop at any second. The gas station slowly filled up with the propane. He slipped out a lighter that he snatched from one of the shelves when Ponyboy was searching for an exit.

The chompers pushed through the garage door. Johnny took in a shuddered breath. There was no turning back now. Ponyboy should be about out now. The chompers got closer.

"A bit closer…" Johnny muttered, sinking to his knees. A small smile laced his lips, this time real. He was finally going to do something useful. He was going to save their lives and end being a burden. His heart was pounding in his chest and Johnny realized that he was terrified. He didn't understand why. He was going to die from the wound anyways, so why was he scared to die like this? Johnny thought he was ready to die, but it takes being in the moment, seconds before his death, to realize he didn't want to die.

Johnny lit the lighter.

 **o-o-o**

Ponyboy peeked out the sewage lid. The feet of the chompers stomped by his eyes. He looked down the dark abyss, waiting for Johnny to pop up, but no matter how long he waited, he didn't appear. Eventually, Ponyboy exited the sewers after all of the chompers passed him. He watched the gas station intently, nails almost piercing through his skin.

"Come on, Johnny…" he muttered, losing hope quickly. What if he's dead? Ponyboy shook his head. There was no way Johnny was dead. He was supposed to follow him outside. He was supposed to—

The gas station exploded, sending Ponyboy flying backwards, heat burning his skin. The gas pumps exploded one after the other, obliterating a good portion of the chompers. Hid back, slid across the asphalt, jagged rocks scratching and digging into his skin. His head hit the ground, almost causing his to black out. Ponyboy's ears rung from the explosion that rose high in the sky. But, even though his body rejected to move, he sat up. His mouth opened, but all that came out was chocked gasps. His eyes watered. He frantically crawled to the sewer hole, running, practically stumbling, through the dark tunnels. His feet splashed in the sewage until he reached the entrance to the bathroom. His hands pressed against the metal of the lid, but he drew back instantly, screaming out in pain. He fell from the ladder, crashing into the ground. The skin on his hand peeled, revealing his red flesh.

There was no way he could get in. Johnny was dead. He shouldn't have left Johnny alone. He knew that something was up, and yet he decided to let Johnny deal with the chompers alone.

This had to be some sort of curse—a redemption from some sort of sin he had no idea he had committed. Everyone was dying in front of him. With each death, he felt like he could have done something to prevent it.

Ponyboy got up, although he didn't want to, and exited the sewers. More chompers were gathering around the gas station. With a scrunched up face from the pain he was in he ran towards the car he left Darry and Dally in.

Upon arriving, Ponyboy noticed that the two of them were still unconscious and untouched. He breathed out a sigh of relief and climbed back in the car. He wrapped his hand up and shook the two, eventually waking them both.

"What happened?" Darry asked, maneuvering himself so he was sitting upright. He still looked out of it.

"Where's Johnny?" Dally demanded.

Ponyboy chewed on his lip. "He… He… He was taken by chompers. I woke up while it was happening, but I was too late. Cut up my hand somewhat badly," Ponyboy lied, looking at the hole in the window that he created. He felt bad for lying, but he couldn't bring himself to tell them that he killed himself. He wiped away his tears.

Dally's stone-cold eyes grew wide before sharpening again. "Let's go."

"What about your wounds…"

"We just hit out heads. Let's go."

Ponyboy scoffed. They just hit their heads, his ass. They were unconscious for hours. But he complied nevertheless, not wanting to stay in the area any longer and the look in Dally's eyes was somewhat unnerving. "Fine…"

They climbed out of the car, Darry and Johnny looked at the smoke that clouded the sky. Ponyboy, on the other hand, couldn't even look.

"Look at that fire…" Darry muttered.

"It's distracting the chompers. We better hurry."

The three walked down the road some more before they found a car they could hotwire. The drove down the road recklessly, tension thick. Ponyboy had stopped crying long ago, and decided to watch Dally's concentrated face on the windows reflection. They were going fast, but Ponyboy didn't care enough. Watching how Dally drove made him realize that Johnny was what kept Dally aloof.


	16. Chapter 16

"Ponyboy!" he shrieked. Ponyboy whipped his head around and ran in the direction where the voice originated from. It was hot. His skin burned and it was hard to breathe. His mind was in a haze as he frantically tried to find the owner of the voice.

"Ponyboy!" the voice screeched again.

"Where are you?" Ponyboy's voice was muffled by the suffocating fire. He pushed through a wooden door, scanning the room desperately—although he didn't know what for.

Huddled up in the corner was Johnny, skin peeled off and blood broiling. Johnny's eyes, filled with so much pain that it was almost befuddling, were trained on him. He reached out for Ponyboy with a charred hand.

"Help…" His plead gave Ponyboy shivers down his spine. His mind was a haze as he ran forward, arms outstretched, but before he could reach Johnny, Ponyboy was blown backwards. A wall of fire consumed Johnny and he screamed. The scream cut through Ponyboy like a knife. His skin paled, contradictory to his charred skin. Ponyboy's heart rattled in his chest as he tried to make out what Johnny was saying, but all he heard were his piercing shrieks.

Ponyboy blinked, all of a sudden the scream changing; deepening. Johnny was no longer burning, but instead Soda. Soda was lying on the ground, every inch of his body covered in flames. The inaudible words were clearer now, each syllable uttered dug the knife deeper.

"So—"

"Kill me!" Soda desperately screamed, cutting him off. "Please, just kill me!"

"N-No! I can't!"

"Shoot me!"

Something cold pressed against Ponyboy's palms. He raised the item up, blood freeing at the sight of the gun.

"Shoot me!"

"No…" Ponyboy didn't want to, but his hands moved on their own as if pulled by an invisible force. A thought filled his brain, pleading him to end the screaming. He couldn't listen to the screams anymore. "No!" He pulled the trigger, the gunshot shaking his bones. Soda's screams died down. His tears filled his vision, forcing him to scrub them away. When he pulled his hands away, the gun was gone and so was the fire, leaving a smoldering room. Soda was no longer lying on the ground. Instead, lying on the floor, blood oozing out of his body, was Two-Bit.

Ponyboy ran towards Two-Bit, but when he placed his hands on his shoulders, the ground sank in. The wood flooring fell into a dark abyss. His stomach flipped as he plummeted into the darkness, holding the shoulders of, who was now, Steve. Ponyboy had to let go to prevent himself from throwing up. He was falling for what seemed like forever before he heard a noise behind him. He turned around, screaming out in shock at the unrecognizable face that was inches from his own. Its grimy teeth were broken and jagged; so close to tearing through his skin.

Ponyboy snapped forward, the chomper disappearing. He gasped for air and tried to move away from what was making it hard to breathe, but he was trapped. Arms were wrapped tightly around him, his face pressed into a firm chest that was drenched in his tears. Ponyboy looked up, puffy eyes meeting with the worried eyes of his brother.

"Are you alright?" Darry asked, loosening his grip slightly.

Instead of answering, Ponyboy pushed himself from Darry. He sat up from the ground, looking around the room to make sure everyone that was still alive was there. Dally was sitting on the couch, looking at Ponyboy with slightly wide eyes. This was the first time he had had a nightmare that violent. The previous nightmares never woke the gang up.

"You were thrashing and screaming. Do you want to talk about it?" Darry continued awkwardly.

Ponyboy shook his head because he didn't trust his voice at the moment. He wrapped his arms around himself for comfort. Slowly, his heartrate slowed down and his body stopped trembling. Although exhausted, Ponyboy couldn't fall back to sleep, especially not with the chompers knocking on the door.

 **o-o-o**

Dally was still rambunctious as he was yesterday. He sat at the wheel, pressing down on the gas pedal. But something was different this time. Both Darry and Ponyboy felt it and saw it in his eyes.

 _Atlanta in thirty miles_

"Are we going to a city?" Ponyboy asked.

"No, we're not. Go onto that off-ramp," Darry answered, pointing to the side of the road a bit up ahead. Dally shook his head and passed the off-ramp. "What are you doing? We need to exit the highway."

In response, Dally pressed on the gas harder, passing more and more off-ramps.

"You need to stop!" Darry shouted, reaching over towards the wheel to turn it into an off-ramp. Both men fought for the wheel, swerving the car back and forth. Fortunately, they were driving on the opposite side of the road so there weren't any cars. The only thing they had to really worry about was driving off of the highway.

"Get your hands off the fucking wheel!" Dally hissed.

"Darry, let go!" Ponyboy shrieked, grabbing onto the car for support. "The car is going to crash!"

Darry glanced back at him before letting go of the wheel, straightening the car. "Why are you heading towards Atlanta? That's a stupid idea."

"We're being followed," Dally finally said.

"What?" Darry spun around, followed by Ponyboy. Almost invisible to the eye, was a small dot in the horizon.

"They followed us since we left the house."

"You didn't think about telling us?!"

"Didn't think much about it until now." Dally shrugged. "We can't go off the road or else they will catch up, but that doesn't mean we can't scare them away."

"I don't like your idea."

"We don't have any other choice. We're almost out of gas."

When the three reached Atlanta, Dally stopped the car and they all walked inside the city, nose wrinkling at the smell of rotten flesh. They passed a few walkers without any trouble, but the numbers grew the deeper they went.

"Holy fuck," Dally cursed as he looked in front of him towards the giant horde.


	17. Chapter 17

Heads turned to the three and their bodies tensed up. One after the other, the chompers walked towards them.

"We need to turn back now," Darry yelled over the murmur of the chompers. They turned around, but the chompers blocked their way of escaping. They were trapped, the sun beating on their necks, staring Death straight in the eyes. The chompers were closing them in, the smell of burning, rotten flesh was suffocating. Their backs pressed against each other, trying to get even the slightest bit away from the undead.

Just before the chompers were about to consume them, a girl tumbled out of the building, eyes wide. "Come on! Hurry!" The three didn't question her, and ran into the building. The girl dragged the cage down, but the chompers tried to go under, catching the gate before it could completely close. Darry and Dally grabbed onto the gate and helped pull it down. Their muscles bulged and their veins popped. Dally kicked his legs to push the horde back. Hands grabbed at their ankles, but, eventually, they managed to slam the gate close.

As the two greasers turned around, they certainly wasn't expecting to be met with the ends of guns. Their eyes crossed as they leaned backwards. Ponyboy took a quick glance backwards then looked back at the gun that was centimeters away from the tip of his nose. The girl scurried passed the three greasers, her red hair blocking her face.

"Cherry, come on!" Another girl that couldn't be a few more than a few years older than Ponyboy said, pulling her friend closer.

"You shouldn't have gone out there!" a boy screamed at the red head. "We could have all died! Now you let strangers in."

"Bob, calm down. They needed help. They would have died," Cherry retaliated.

"We're going to die now!"

Cherry crossed her arms. "I hate when you get like this."

"They have a boy," the other girl offered.

"How do you know if they weren't bit?" Bob asked, jabbing the gun against Darry's forehead.

"Let's check them," another guy suggested.

"Fine. Cherry, Marcia, check them."

Cherry walked over to Ponyboy, patting him down and checking his skin for bites. "Sorry about him. I hate when he acts like this. I can tell you're a nice kid." She took out the gun from Ponyboy's holster and the knife and put them on the counter. She walked over Dally, not giving even the smallest of smiles like she did with Pony.

"Man, your hair is red. Do you spend time to dye your hair these days?" Dally whispered so that only she could hear. His smirk was strained as he tried to play off the situation.

She rolled her eyes, letting out an annoyed breath. "Do me a favor, and shut your trap." Cherry grabbed his gun and put it on the counter as Marcia placed Darry's weapon next to it.

"They're clear," Marcia confirmed.

"Good. If any of you cause any trouble, you guys are gone," Bob said. The guns were lowered and they stepped back.

The chompers pounded on the gate. The gate wasn't going to hold for much longer, Darry observed. They had to find a way out, but he doubted that the other people would agree with strangers.

"That gate isn't too good," Dally commented, joining Darry's side.

"It's not. The boards over the windows won't hold either. Do you know if there's a way out of here?"

"Probably. There's always a backdoor in places like this. We need to get the weapons first."

"How? They're standing right by them." They looked over to the counter and was surprised that Ponyboy was talking to Cherry and Marcia. Bob and the other boys were drinking alcohol in the corner, lost in their own banter.

"I'll tell Ponyboy what we need and then we can find an exit." Dally walked over to Ponyboy, leaning against the counter a bit too closely for comfort. He caught eyes with Ponyboy and glanced at the weapons quickly until Ponyboy received the message with a small nod. Dally turned back to Cherry. "You never answered my question before."

Cherry's smile dropped and she looked disgusted. "Why can't you leave me alone? Be nice a leave me alone."

Dally laughed and looked at Darry before walking over to him.

Cherry sighed in relief. "I hope I never see him again."

"I wouldn't want to see him either," Marcia said.

"If I see him again, I could fall in love with him."

Ponyboy shifted uncomfortably. "Where are you guys heading?" He moved a centimeter closer, stretching his hand on the counter as casually as he could.

Marcia shrugged. "Anywhere but here. Where are you going?"

"Just trying to survive. How'd y'all meet?" Ponyboy slipped his knife in his sleeve.

"We went to school together. What about you?" Cherry answered.

"My brother and my friend."

"Oh, is the one without the darker hair."

"Yes."

"You look a lot like him."

Ponyboy knew she was just saying that. He didn't think he looked anything like his brother. He looked more like Soda, if anyone. "I've been told that I look more like my other brother, Sodapop," Ponyboy explained bitterly.

"Where's—" Marcia started, but was interrupted by Cherry.

"Well, you brother must have been handsome. When do you think we'll be able to leave?"

Ponyboy's heart clenched and he was no longer in the mood for chitchat. He grabbed his handgun and slid it in his holster, pressing his leg against the counter to hide the gun, but the movement was noticed by the tipsy men.

"Hey! Drop it!" Bob snapped, grabbing his gun. Hurriedly, Ponyboy grabbed the rest of their heavy guns and bolted to where Dally and Darry ran off to. Bullets whizzed past him. He was about to turn around when a sharp pain erupted in his leg. Ponyboy slammed into the ground. The guns that weighted him down, skidded across the floors and he screamed. His body froze in a state of paralysis. They men ran towards him, pointing their guns at him.

Dally and Darry turned around the corner, eyes wide as they quickly registered the situation. They grabbed the guns on the ground and pointed it towards the men.

"Stop it!" Cherry screamed. "Don't shoot! They're just trying to leave us alone!"

A loud crash came from the main room.

"Shit!" Everyone ran towards the room. Chompers were reaching through the broken boards that covered the windows. Bob and the other males in the other group pushed the board so that there wouldn't be any more damage.

They watched in horror as hands grabbed Bob and ripped through his flesh. Bob let out a loud yell and fell to his knees. Cherry and Marcia screamed before the chompers pushed through, consuming the other males holding the window.

Darry and Dally rushed back to Ponyboy who was bleeding and about to pass out. "Can you stand?" Darry asked, helping Ponyboy up and leaning him against his side.

"We need to go!" Dally yelled and they walked towards the back entrance as fast as they could. They flinched at the screams from the other room. When they exited the door, they found themselves in a back alleyway. One side was blocked off by a fence and the other was blocked off by chompers who turned to look at them. "Over the fence."

They reached the fence, the chompers right behind them. Darry climbed over and Ponyboy looked pitifully at his leg but let out a surprise yelp as he was lifted up. Dally's eyes were blank as he successfully got Ponyboy over the fence.

"Come on, Dally!" Darry yelled.

Dally looked back. "There's no time."

"What do you mean? Come on!"

"They're too close. I'll meet you out. Just go." Dally spun around and ran through the horde of chompers.

Darry grabbed Ponyboy who was too disoriented to realize what had happened. They walked away from the fence as the chompers began to climb over and push the fence down. They left the city with a horde following closely behind them. Dally never joined them.


	18. Chapter 18

Ponyboy peaked through the window of the house. It seemed empty, but he couldn't be sure until he did a full search of the house. Ponyboy rapped on the door, waiting for movement, but there was nothing. He opened the door slowly, the hinges squeaking. He warily searched through the house for any chomper, his hand lightly brushing against the hilt of his knife.

He made it to the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. Clean. There wasn't even one bandage left. What a waste of time.

As he was leaving the bathroom, the shower curtain flung open and a chomper stumbled out. Before Ponyboy could react, the chomper was dead, its head blown out.

"Careful," Darry warned, putting his gun away.

Ponyboy rolled his eyes. "I would say the same to you."

"Let's beat it. More chompers are on their way."

"That's because you had to use your gun. I had it under control."

Darry sighed. The apocalypse really changed Ponyboy. He was no longer the innocent, dreamer boy who used to draw Dally's picture all the time, read books, and watch the sunset. He had become colder; tougher. His eyes didn't shine with wonder, and his body didn't tremble like Darry's or any other adult. Darry assumed that, since he was a kid, he could adjust to things easier. It scared Darry, but, nevertheless, he had to be patient. "I know. It was a mistake. Let's just go."

Ponyboy knew he stepped over the line. He was his only family left, after all. His expression softened. "Let's go."

They walked onto the road and left the town. Their stomachs grumbled. They haven't ate anything for days. In the midst of walking, a deer jumped onto the road. Its eyes stared at the two, stopping dead in its tracks.

Darry whipped out his gun, but before he could put a bullet into it, the deer bounded away. "After it," he yelled, following the trail with Ponyboy trailing close behind. The deer easily outran them, but they continued to run in hopes to find it again.

Suddenly, Darry stopped in his tracks, holding out his arm to stop Ponyboy from proceeding forward. The brothers hid behind a tree, peeking towards the deer who had calmed down a distance away. "Stay here," Darry said, stepping out from the tree to get into firing distance from the deer. He carefully maneuvered his way from tree to tree. He got close to the deer, enough for it to be hard to miss. Darry slowly raised the gun, cocking it.

The sudden click caught the deer's attention and it turned to look in the direction of Darry. In one swift motion, Darry whipped around the tree, taking aim. Ponyboy pressed his back against the tree, flinching at the gunshot. He turned around the tree, expecting for Darry to be walking back.

Ponyboy's blood ran cold at the deer's and Darry's limp bodies, bleeding profusely. "Darry!" Ponyboy screamed, running to his side. He pressed his hand on the bullet wound, blood staining his hands. "Darry, come on, wake up."

"Holy shit, is he okay?" A man ran up with concern blown up in his eyes.

If Ponyboy wasn't in such a bad situation, he would have retaliated with a snarky remark. _Of course he's not okay, he was just shot!_ Ponyboy thought, glaring. His hands formed fists in Darry's shirt, tears stinging his eyes. He was all he had left. He was alone now.

Rage didn't compare to what Ponyboy was feeling. His thoughts were fogged over as he grabbed his gun from his holster, pointing it at the man who stumbled back in fear.

"H-Hold on! I was aiming for the deer!" the man stammered, back hitting a tree.

Ponyboy stepped closer, clenching his teeth. The first shot obliterated the man's head lifted the weight off of Ponyboy's shoulders. But he didn't stop after killing the man. Ponyboy kept shooting the man over and over until his gun clicked out of bullets and the man sank to the ground.

Dropping the handgun, Ponyboy returned to Darry's side, resting his face on his bloody chest. He listened his faint heartbeat, reassuring him that Darry was still alive, although not for long. Darry was too heavy to drag anywhere, and they didn't have the medication to treat another gunshot wound. Ponyboy sobbed into the shirt. He didn't want to be alone.

Ponyboy looked up to Darry moving and he instantly pushed himself away. "Darry!"

But it wasn't Darry anymore. He had passed away without a proper goodbye.

Darry glanced at Ponyboy with glassy eyes. His skin was paler than paler.

"I'm sorry…"

With shaky hands, Ponyboy raised his knife, eyes puffy. Darry sat up but Ponyboy pushed him back down again. He closed his eyes and brought his hand down. The chomper stopped moving and Ponyboy pulled back, curling against himself. He rested his head on his knees and sat there for hours, hunger long forgotten.

 **o-o-o**

The summer heat beat down on Ponyboy's neck. The road stretched forever, disappearing in the horizon. He walked without a motive. He only knew that he was supposed to survive at whatever cost.

The world had gone to hell and every day he had suffered. He had lost everyone he knew and loved; watched them die before his eyes. He had lost everything. He had lost himself and what made him Ponyboy. Ponyboy was a toy soldier, forced to march forward without any means.

It was lonely. The earth that was always buzzling became silent besides the grumbles of the chompers.

He had to survive against the chompers. It was the least he could do for the lives that were sacrificed for him. Because of that, the wayward boy continued forward on the endless road.

 **o-o-o**

 **Finally! I'm done. I just finished the story because I ran out of ideas on what to write. It was really hard for me to write this and I wanted to quit every week. Thank you for reading.**

 **I'm actually writing a sequel, which will start soon. It is a crossover to the show The Walking Dead and will follow that story line. I really wish the Neagan arc would end before I catch up to the show. .**


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